


My Boy Builds Coffins

by cosmic_interference



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst, Black Cats, But also modern, Demon!Kylo, F/M, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Hurt/Comfort, I honestly don't like him, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm not trying to be accurate, Romance, Slow Burn, Snoke is kinda a minor character, Stormpilot, Witch Rey, Witchcraft, kind of, obviously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2018-12-03 08:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 141,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11528307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_interference/pseuds/cosmic_interference
Summary: And nothing had been amiss that night, except for the dangerous stranger hurtling for her with dead intent on that darned roof and the keen liquid golden eyes of an elegant black cat focused on her like she'd been written in the stars for him.It was an odd thought.One she thought above the sick crunch of her assailant's rib cage under his own blade.





	1. Punishments

**Author's Note:**

> ...yeah. It's a Florence song.
> 
> It's my first time at the cool kids table. Which is basically just how I look at AO3. Hopefully, I can hold a candle next to my favorite authors here, even just a little. I do apologize in advance for spelling/grammar/location mistakes that you might encounter. (Or any mistake in general). I'll try not to flail around too much. This idea was inspired by two separate fics that I absolutely love (you can go check them out; Hormonal_Trashbags' "Hex" and EjBlaKit's "Demonology 101") and proceeded to try my hand at worldcrafting from these two tropes. Hope it's not too scattered, whatever it is I'm trying to do. So, anyways. Hope y'all like it!

He could have been a bear. Or a large hunkering griffin, covered from head to toe with obsidian fur. Or a hawk, fierce and superior, with the chance to view the city streets and the alleys under the cloak of night. Or even an onyx serpent, stealthy and cunning. A hybrid would have been better, he'd even trade in his devil horns just to get out of this body, this version of him. For he was punished, and only when he'd succeeded being a henchman to a newly graduated witch would his curse be lifted. What's worse, the pathetic underling needed to be satisfied with his service. Service.  _Service_. Kylo Ren was not meant to serve. It was supposed to be the other way around. But no one could break the rules of the witches—their connection with the Underworld and the Treaty of Peace among the Realms prohibited him from trying to worm his way out of the situation. So now he had to stay like he was. 

Obsidian, yes, with glowing yellow eyes, yes, and the ability to see clearly even after twilight, yes, but in the body of a measly, insignificant little _cat_.

There wasn't really anything on his record that screamed for him to immediately find himself under the Supreme Leader's wrath. He had just demonstrated an atomic amount of power and incinerated his enemies within his realm. He hadn't touched any hypocritical witches. But still, his master deemed a punishment was in order. So, even though he'd been upset and brooding like a child reprimanded for losing his Hellhound, he grudgingly accepted his punishment in silence. 

When he'd felt the stuffy, muggy air of the upstairs world, the world of the mortals, he grunted, or, given his state, released a less than aggressive sniff. As if his nose had caught on some dust from the street and now it'd messed with his newly acquired senses. Being a cat was horrible. He was small, and everyone was literally looking down at him. He was also mediocre. Of course no one knew that a dangerous demon was trapped inside the body of a black cat; mortals are the most blissfully unaware race in all the known dimensions. They were ignorant, and lazy, and difficult to find reason with. And this was why his kind was not allowed to mingle with them. His kind went above and beyond conventional understanding. 

In the dark of the alley, Kylo trudged on bitterly, avoiding puddles that have already muddied his paws twice before, when he'd been trying helplessly to adjust to his new form. He realized he now had a fascination with dark, crawling things that smelt like garbage and poked their heads out of sewers. Worse, he wanted to _eat_ them. Hunger bloomed in his stomach like it had always been there, though he’d overcome it in his demon form.

He was suddenly yelping and craning his head around for any sound that might come across as suspicious. He was meowing a lot, too, it was his version of complaining. He complained and grumbled a lot, but now that he was nothing more than a four-legged stray cat, his complaints sounded more little, and pitchy, even if he tried to lace it with a growl. Cats weren't lions, apparently, no matter how much mortals claim they're still every bit the same as their big cat counterparts. Kylo Ren would have been extremely delighted to prowl around the city sporting a dark mane around his neck rather than sloshing his long, black tail around when he wasn't paying attention. 

Now he was a stray, with absolutely no access to food. Unlike before, when he'd been a distinguished high-ranking demon in the underworld, with all his desires completely his at the flick of a wrist, this form limited his already limited-to-zero options. 

He had to get to a house, somewhere on this street. A house, a cozy one, something mortals won't be able to see. But where was it? Was it cloaked from him for added punishment? He scowled. That sounded very Supreme Leader Snoke-like. Demons did thrive on the anguish of others, he shouldn't have been surprised. It was his joy, too. So he spent at least an hour circling the areas and keeping an eye out for a door at the side of a building that mortals didn't bat an eyelash to, or some sort of portal laced within the brick where only his and the Witches' kind can pass through. 

But his luck had been running out since he'd awoken to this realm disoriented, and with new limbs. So he tried a different tactic. He slunk to the rooftops of some of the nearby apartments, hoping to get a good vantage point and not flood his senses to confusion with all the whirring thoughts of the mortals afoot. Maybe he could try and sense it. Wherever it was. One rooftop, he found, had a couple in it. Kylo twisted his neck in annoyance, and stalked quietly to the neighboring rooftop. This one had a rambunctious party going on, so he slipped away before anyone noticed him. 

The last rooftop he found himself on, was squat and didn't look like it belonged in the neighborhood.

Its windows were boarded up, shards of broken glass jutting out like angry teeth. Doors and balconies were wide open, the balustrades were torn and twisted chaotically, metal and iron winding out and ending in sharp points, making the sides of the building look like open mouths of curled, distorted rusty steel. When he peeked, no one was inside, not one living soul. So he scampered quickly in the quiet of the rooftop and began observing. The cement was cracked, withered and small pieces of debris getting in between the gaps of his paws. 

Occasionally, he got an annoying urge to lick himself. He'd been walking around for a while now, after all, but he always tried to fight it. Because, well, it was undignified. And Kylo Ren had no _undignified_ behaviors. He felt the irony twist in his gut.  He sighed. Perhaps his actions within his realm _was_ undignified. So when the urge came again, he openly licked himself under the moonlight. 

The swing of a door jarred him from his comfortable grooming. He tried to throw a snarl in the direction of the rooftop door but all that came out was a hiss. The perpetrator, it seemed, didn't notice Kylo Ren's annoyance. What Kylo did notice was a girl squirming in the man's arms. A young girl, whose hair was cascading down the sides of her head and whose mouth was being covered by the man. He watched in rapt attention, not finding it within himself to intervene. But his fascination had piqued on the squirming girl, she was fighting back with everything she had, even if it looked like a losing battle. Kylo Ren knew this because he'd fought and won multiple times to know when an enemy was losing. 

But she did not concede. 

She kicked and lurched forward to try and dislodge the man's grip, pushing the base of her spine hard against the man’s stomach and yanking his arm so harshly Kylo thought she’d dislodge the man’s shoulder. The man landed with a loud thud against the cement and cracked it in the middle. He groaned pitifully, but lurched forward on his hands and knees and charged towards the girl with a shriek. But the girl was ready; parting her slender legs, she took him by the hip and brought him up on both arms to slam him right back down the hard cement. Her hair was wild and frizzy after the skirmish, but she held a knife up dangerously, backing dangerously close to the edge of a cliff of—Kylo’s eyes fluttered. She was on the edge of an overwhelming amount of _anger_. Kylo Ren recognized the knife as the one shining from the man's pocket only moments ago. Not only had the girl managed to escape, she'd also taken a hold of his weapon. And now the man was lifting two arms out for mercy. But the girl was already seeing red. He steadfastly watched as the girl screeched and swung her arm down heavily, aiming for his chest and with an even louder battle cry, she struck his heart with the knife and twisted the blade in his skin. 

Kylo Ren heard the _crack crack_ of his bones sharply in the air as his ears twitched to the sound with mirth. Within seconds, the man was writhing on the floor and grappling the last strands of his life. He was a mortal, Kylo noticed from the swift disappearance of his life, but the girl—she'd looked at him, and noticed with fascination, how he'd seen the whole thing—she was not a mortal, at least not so completely. The angry flare of her red eyes told him this. And towards her, he felt a mighty tug. It felt like he was being dragged into her orbit, like he suddenly couldn't help but gravitate towards her. 

And that was when it clicked. 

The building. 

The state it was in. 

Not looking like it belonged. 

The mortals just walked around it, but the dead man before him was most definitely an agent sent for this woman; a hollow vessel _other_ that more violent creatures in far higher places used to do their dirty work where they were prohibited. There was no way a mortal could step inside a building commandeered for his kind, and now, staring back at this svelte woman, for hers, too.   

The tug was back and there was no stopping his new set of legs from moving towards her. 

She was going to be his master. And he was going to be her henchman. The bond had been made. Wordlessly, she stormed off. 

 

* * *

 

Kylo Ren kept tailing her. 

She'd been frustrated when she couldn't figure out why exactly he had and it wasn't the reaction he was expecting. He'd still been fascinated with her determination and the nonchalance she exuded after leaving the dead man on the rooftop to bleed himself empty. Suddenly, Kylo Ren thought maybe this wouldn't be so bad. She still stormed off, though, south of the abandoned building, and shut herself inside a car parked several blocks down. Kylo had hopped in at the last second, thanking, for once, his cat abilities. 

"What do you want?" She snarled. She wasn't going to start the engine, he noticed, not until she got her answer. So he conceded. 

_I am your henchman._ He answered cryptically, sitting perfectly still in the passenger's seat. The girl snorted, her short, shoulder length hair moving when her head slightly tipped back. 

"Like that explains everything." 

Kylo gave her the closest expression of nonchalance he could offer in his cat form, and licked one dark paw. Unblinking, he shot back,  _I'm starting to think you're not a witch._

"I'm _not._ " And then she started the engine. 

This intrigued him. He put his paw down and studied her for a moment, even as she was backing slightly on the driveway and through the way she'd stepped on the gas, face flushed with anger. The red in her eyes had subsided, but still, she was projecting her anger like an obnoxious blanket of toxic energy. 

_It would do you well not to lie_. He retorted back simply, and she threw him a look that screamed all her curiosity at him. She was only now registering the deep rumble of his voice, velvety and smooth, usually aimed for the seduction of beings like her. Her frown grew deeper.

He warned her because he knew lies had an ugly retaliation all the time. Except she wasn't lying. 

He sighed. A thousand years, and he'd be paired up with a clueless,  _newborn_  of a witch. 

_Why do you say that?_ He asked instead because.. well.. why?

"It's a myth." She rounded a corner roughly and he saw the startled yelp of a pedestrian at the near collision, and the sharp spike of her anger at the distraction. "Move, bitch!" She shouted from the driver's seat. 

Really. This witch is more impulsive than he was. 

_It's not a myth._

"It so is!"

_If you so believe, then why can I communicate with you?_

"Because I'm probably drunk."

This, he saw, was true. She'd worn the leather jacket over a white shirt and a tight red leatherette short. The small stains on the collar of the shirt now made sense, and why she'd smelt so different when he'd first seen her at the rooftop. Curiously, he moved towards her, effectively blocking her view of the road. She yelped and her hands flew frantically around the steering wheel–

"Hey!"

But they didn't crash. Kylo Ren stopped the collision in his mind, and just like that, the world stood frozen. The girl blinked in disbelief, a strangled sort of noise worming its way up her throat and out her mouth. He kept inching his small black head closer, training his golden eyes on her panicked brown ones. She sat quiet, intrigued and angry, but still, remarkably motionless. She didn't know what he was looking for. He now knew, he could see past her mental barriers after all, even if some of her thoughts were shielded. 

She had some training before but she didn't get that far. Otherwise, she could have guarded her thoughts better, or at least sensed it when he came barreling through the few clattered memories scattered about in the forefront of her mind that provided him an answer. 

_They kicked you out._ Heconcluded. The girl showed another expression other than a frantic need to escape some sort of disappointment. Now he knew where it was coming from. He kept time frozen, and watched as realization played out on her face. He settled down behind her steering wheel and curled in himself, waiting for her response. He knew it would come. 

And come, it did. But unexpectedly so, it was. 

"Who  _are_  you?"

He looked at her after a while, his golden eyes noting the brown curls of his new master's shoulder length hair, the freckles dusted on her tanned face, the slight shock he could still see, laced with a baser desire to know, the intrigue, underneath it all. 

He smirked. And even his cat form could never hide his cocksureness.  _I am called Kylo Ren._

_And who are you?_ He followed. And the girl hesitated. He let time flow again, just so he could enjoy her panic again. The car nearly crashed into a fire hydrant but the girl spun the wheel hard and fast enough to dodge it, as she parked awkwardly at another side of the road. She panted angrily and threw him a look but he sat there, waiting. 

Eventually, but with the same amount of anger, she gritted out, "Rey." 

 

* * *

 

_"Rey, I'm sorry. We can't continue accepting you." The old woman mumbled, thumbing a thick wad of paperwork on her desk. She'd been called in so many times she knew all those printed documents contained all the instances she was there in the first place._

_The man behind her, leaning his back against the threshold of the door, sighed on her behalf._

_"Luke, I'm sorry," the woman at the desk shot back, any hope of an excuse from her personal witchcraft mentor shattered before it even had a chance to get out._

_Rey looked back apologetically and all Luke could do was give her a sad smile. She turned back to the woman and watched in hopeless silence as she tucked the papers back in her draw. There was that sick twist in her gut again. The same twist she felt when she first cut that man in two—her first murder incident. Not that it completely mattered, it was dark arts sword training, the students knew exactly what they were getting into. They were not_ infants _. Still, the awful twist was the same._

_"You are hereby banished out of this realm and into the realm of the mortals. From now, and until the Council decides what is to become of your crimes."_

_Luke had cringed behind her, and Rey pathetically just struggled not to wail out._

_The woman, at least two feet shorter than Rey, added carefully before dismissing her, "You must be careful, young one. You have made many bad decisions that have crossed one too many creatures. It would serve you well to be wary of your exile. This is as lenient as the academy will be. Should you learn your lesson, and should the Council decide to take you back, you must be prepared for a trial. Your crimes are still valid and an ugly reminder of highly inappropriate behavior." She sighed, but offered Rey a sympathetic look. "Child, you are wise. I know you will make proper use of your time in exile to mull over your wrongdoings, and hopefully come back with a firm head above your shoulders. Master Luke will lead you to the portal."_

_"Yes, High Principal Maz."_

 

* * *

 

Rey jolted awake in her apartment. It had been the next morning. She vaguely remembered the events yesterday, but the moment she'd been kicked out of the academy was a constant playback clip of the same scene over and over again for the past year. The year had dragged excruciatingly long. The time in this realm was slower than she would have liked. 

She sat up, only to feel the sharp cinch of a pair of leatherette pants tightening around her thighs. Memories of last night flooded back in, then, and her eyes fell mournfully to the black cat curled in on himself at the foot of her bed. He knew. It was drilling a hole on his spine.

_It's about time you woke up._  Kylo Ren, the cat's name that she'd remembered from last night, sounded bored and annoyed when the words flashed in her mind.

"What happened?" She was talking about last night, Kylo Ren mused, and he recalled it with disgust and tried to show it in his face. He reared his head back and lifted his nose up, looking at her from that angle. 

_You emptied the contents of your stomach on your feet while inside the car, and, after several minutes, lost consciousness on the steering wheel._ He left out the embarrassing detail of flying so high out of surprise, he'd hit his head on the ceiling of the car and fell awkwardly on the passenger seat. _So I had to fish inside your mind, get your address, and teleport you here._ Kylo Ren followed this up with more disdain, squinting his eyes at her.  _I had exhausted myself for your sake. Now you will pay for it by feeding me._

Rey took a sharp intake of breath and shifted her shoulders to slide the leather jacket off. He watched his master's lean but muscular arms move and shift under her skin and decided he liked the way she looked strong despite the delicate arch of her brow or the dainty press of her lips together, even chapped against the morning light. 

"Shit," she mumbled, getting on her tiptoes and stretching, "what do cat-demons eat?"

Kylo felt revolted at the monicker.  _Did you seriously just call me 'cat-demon'?_

Rey shrugged, picking up a scrunchie from her bedside table to push her hair up. 

"What do you want me to call you?"

_Have I not given you a name the night before? Or, have you, in your recklessness, forgotten that this would have to work if you want to get rid of me easily?_

"What?"

_I know you wish I wasn't here._ He communicated to her, and the way she bit her bottom lip gave her away. 

"Even if I wanted to make this easier and just let you go, I don't think I can. For me to do that, I have to be continuing witchcraft training. But as it stands, I'm kicked out, remember?" 

He remembered. 

"And," she added, "besides, there's also this other thing that I've felt on that rooftop. This.. thing that kind of pulls me towards you. Like a magnet. Or some shit. I don't know."

He knew about that too. But he chose to let her keep talking. 

"I can't evaluate you. I can't tell the Council if your service satisfied me because the Council isn't interested in me as of late. They were just happy that I was gone."

She gave another shrug and padded towards the kitchen. Her footsteps were heavy and tired and he sensed the slight throbbing in her head from last night's alcohol consumption, and when she suddenly bolted for the restroom, he knew what the sound of her groans meant. 

In the silence, he contemplated his situation. He got bonded to a witch that was kicked out of the academy and now any hope of freeing himself from this form was going to have to wait. Or, he dreaded, gone. Think, Ren, think. He thought of the Nethers. Of consistently annoying Armitage Hux and all the other demons within that realm, of Supreme Leader Snoke. The bond kept pulling his mind to think about the girl, however, much to his displeasure. His problem was with her after all. How can he try and solve this problem.. he craned his neck around when she swung the bathroom door open and the idea hit him like the crack of a whip.

_You need a teacher._  He announced in her head and looked at her intensely with his golden irises. If there was one thing he was at least thankful for the bond was the fact that he didn’t have to make a copious amount of undignified cat noises to explain himself.

"Well, obviously," was her reply. She jerked her head to the side and gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen. 

_No, you don't understand,_  he jumped on the counter gracefully. He forced out a loud meow against his will, willing her to pay attention to him. It worked, but she also reached a hand out to him on a whim. He backed away, suddenly bewildered, but it was too late. Her lithe fingers found the side of his head and, to his horror, his new cat senses accepted the gesture with glee and found himself leaning closer to where her touch had formed a warm sort of cocoon. Her fingers moved from the side of his head to press her palm against his neck, her thumb drawing circles against his small chin. His whiskers twitched. 

The sound of her laughter made him shoot his eyes open–another wave of horror rippled across their bond at the realization that he had closed his eyes from her ministrations. With a huff, he lifted both paws and clawed at her hand with a hiss. She stepped back just in time and grabbed hold of the refrigerator handle. 

"What don't I understand?" There was a smirk in her tone, and he could feel the smugness within her. 

_Stupid witch._  He mumbled.  _I said, you need a teacher._

"We've established that. I want to know where you're going with this." She waved a hand out and poured what looked like milk inside a small bowl she fished out of the overhead cupboards. Kylo Ren snubbed the grumble in his tummy at the scene unfolding. 

_Let me teach you._  He said simply, his tail swishing against his better judgment. 

Rey scoffed at that and placed the bowl in front of him. He found himself lapping it up ravenously in merely seconds and when he looked up, Rey was already at the stool directly in front of him, staring him down with her chin on the palm of her hand. He held his gaze past her freckled nose and repeated his offer. 

_Let me be your teacher._

She didn't say anything for a long while, but Kylo Ren kept silent, watching the way her emotions played out through her eyes and in her mind–the hesitance was the most glaring, and then there was perplexity. A tinge of self-doubt, because she wasn't sure if she was worth teaching anymore. And underneath it all, curiosity. Kylo smirked internally. Rey's eyes focused on him again. 

"But you're a demon."

This time, it was his turn to shrug.  _I was a witch once, mind you._

Her eyes narrowed at him but Kylo turned his attention back to the bowl of milk in front of him. An image of Luke Skywalker flashed in her mind, Kylo quickly masked his shock before she could notice. Of course. Fate was always atrocious with him. Of course he had to end up being tethered to his uncle's apprentice. Intrigued, he pushed at the other boundaries surrounding her thoughts and caught glimpses of a younger, tinier version of her. A broken car, two dead bodies bathing in their own blood, limbs haphazardly strewn across both the passenger and driver's seat. And then a cold alleyway, a stubby, greasy man, promising her shelter in exchange for work. More grease, but this time, from the metal carcass of an open car. She was a little older, but still thin. Working until night for a few scraps of food. Then sleeping unsatisfied for another disappointing morning.

"Stop that."  The dangerous edge in her voice brought him back. There was an annoyed grimace on her face and a slight trail of sweat to the side of her face. She'd tried to push him out. But her lack of training made it strenuous. He licked his paw again, unapologetic. 

_See how untrained you are? I can so easily break down your barriers. And I wasn't even trying._

"You can't just go around poking at people's minds."

_I can take whatever I want._

She slammed her palm against the table but Kylo Ren did not give any indication of surprise. His lack of reaction spiked up her anger and soon her hand darted out to seize his plastic bowl to angrily throw it in the sink with a loud clatter. 

She was breathing hard through her mouth now, too angry to care. Kylo stood his ground. 

"Not from my mind you don't!" She yelled. He padded away from the counter in annoyance, swaying his tail to tell her the outburst was nothing new to him. He stopped, mid-stride, just a few inches to the sofa when he heard a sob escape her lips. And suddenly, her head was pitching forward in her hands. He felt her tears through the bond as if they were his own. 

He looked at her, at how her legs bent in against her chest and the sharp shiver in her shoulders. She was projecting pain, immeasurable pain, through the bond. Pain he hadn't even gotten a touch of. Pain for family. He flinched. The witch was crying about the dead people in her mind. It shouldn't matter anymore. She'd been young. And they were long dead now. But the hurt cut deep within her, like all of it just happened yesterday. 

Against his better judgment, he slunk back to her, shutting down the proud voice in his head to not approach, to not engage. But he was already beside her, seating himself patiently on his hind legs, and looked up at her. He felt how she sensed him through the bond, as though the vulnerability in her emotions made her more aware of their shared connection. 

"What? You gonna pilfer through more of my emotions?" She spat bitterly. He looked away, rueful this time. Somehow, he understood it when her pain caused him pain, too. He knew all too well the torment of a bad memory, he just didn't have any other basis for a bad memory that involves the death of his parents. They were both alive and well, somewhere, separated, probably. But they were there. 

_No_ , he communicated firmly. _I apologize_. 

“I’ve kept it hidden for so long and you just—it isn’t _fair_.”

He wouldn’t have thought the words he’d said next were even his. _I truly apologize_.

Rey scoffed and nodded towards the sink where the bowl had landed. "You just said that so I could feed you again."

Kylo Ren shrugged, padding towards her legs, stretched out in front of her now and slightly parted at the middle, and rested his head on her thigh.  _I apologized, witch, isn't that enough?_ He rested his haunches on the floor and adjusted his front legs across her thigh, enjoying the warmth. He noticed this with no small amount of dread. But his cat body was looking for that warmth. And she was close by, convenient, and he needed her to trust him if they were going to do this. 

Her fingers found the back of his ears again and rubbed affectionately, sniffling as she went. He let her do it for a moment, and then he lifted his head to look at her dead in the eye. 

_Stop that._

She giggled. 

 

* * *

 

"Meditation?"

Kylo Ren sighed. This had been the umpteenth time Rey asked the question, and every time his answer was just the same. 

_Yes_. He was scowling at her through the bond and meowing angrily at a low octave simultaneously. 

"Why?" 

She'd asked that, too. One too many times. And again, his answer was the same. 

_Yes. It will allow you to concentrate._ The furrow in her brow deepened and the creases increased. He wasn't getting through to her. Kylo Ren released another deep, angry meow. 

"What does that have to do with blocking my mind effectively?" The questions she posed were actually normal and sincere and it irked him how sincere they were. As though she truly hadn't been taught why meditation was crucial to fortifying one's mental defenses. A quick dip in her head gave him an answer–Skywalker had taught her, but her impulsiveness and impatience had kept getting in the way. His scowl deepened as he watched Rey try in vain to sit still in the middle of her living room, drawing breaths in and out. 

_Don't rush it_ , he warned when she'd started sort of hyperventilating slowly. 

Her whole body arched forward, her shoulders pushing forward pathetically and her head sagging. "I'm  _trying_."

He hissed at her.  _Try_ harder _._

"What makes you think this is so easy?!" She whimpered pitifully once more, flopping on her back against the cold floor. Rey felt him through their connection, he was moving about the house. To where she wasn't exactly sure. Curiously, she tried opening herself up to their newfound bond and bolted upright when the image in her head morphed into the sight in front of him—he was in her room.

"Get out of there!" She screamed, scrambling up to her feet, but the door had flung closed, locked when she tried to twist the knob. 

_"Kylo Ren!"_ She yelled against the wooden door, but all she felt as a response was the sharp smugness through their bond. 

_If you're going to kick me out, you better do it quick. I won't just be plundering through your head now,_ he dragged his paw slowly against her mirror. She groaned. 

_I'll be putting my paws on your_ other _things_.

"Kylo!" Rey was smashing her shoulder against the door now, to no avail. "You better not touch anything or I'll kill you!"

He scoffed through the bond, and the action made her skin prick in deep annoyance. She pushed her way harshly in their connection and tried to grasp his will, to make him turn back and–

There was a gasp and a smirk again.  _That's it, Rey, try to kill me. You can't even will the door to open. How do you intend to do that? Oooh, that drawer looks enticing._

Rey pushed her shoulder harder against the door, her breath pushing out from her teeth from the effort of containing her anger. The bond was ringing in her ears, both from her anger and his sure-smugness. She tried barreling her way into the bond head first, grappling for something that she could turn against him. But his mind was shielded, something that spoke to her of how trained he was compared to her. She suddenly felt small. 

_What, now you're wallowing in self-pity. Fight, Rey. And wait, are those panties–_

_"Kylo!"_ She concentrated back at the bond and found his imprint loosely floating around, a dark tendril lined with gold. He was forcefully showing himself to her. So she ran to it and gave it a mighty tug. Instantly, she felt a mighty flush of self-satisfaction, but she wasn't entirely sure if it was hers or his. Beyond the door, Kylo Ren grinned to himself. She was strong when she was angry. He'd seen it the night before. He just had to draw it out of her. 

_That's a pathetic attempt. The door is still closed. Do I have to bury myself in your undergarment draw to push you into action?_ And then he felt an angry tug in the bond again, and another tug, stronger, around the energy, around the apartment. She was trying to open the door from the outside. He slunk quietly in her head and saw that she was doing it all wrong. He needed something more to push her. He needed to push her buttons. What was it that mattered so much to her? Maybe he could use that. 

At the rate she was going, and the way she was going about it, he could walk around her room for the whole day and she'd never get the door open from his hold. He spotted it. There on her bedside table. He'd caught a glimpse of it in the night, but the dark had hidden it. A picture. A man and a woman, and a brown-haired girl, smiling from ear to ear. He felt her mentally recoil when she saw what he saw through the bond, and that was all the motivation he needed to near the photograph. 

_Don't you dare._ She grit out through the bond. 

He looked at the photo and sat beside it to stare intently at it, knowing full well she could see through his eyes. His ears were ringing with her anger. He ignored it. 

_Door_. He stated simply and again the energy crackled. Rey was trying again. But this time, Kylo Ren decided to guide her. 

_You're angry with me._

"Of course!" She shouted through the other side of the door. A confused spike rammed in his head but it was from the mortal in the neighboring unit. He ignored it. 

_Good_. He replied, dragging a paw at the glass-encased memory. Her anger was practically searing at the edges of his mind, trying to melt his defenses down.  _And what do you want to do about it?_

"I'm going to kill you!"

_But that's clearly not working out in your favor, is it? What do you want to do_ first? 

"I'm going to open this door, and you're going to regret it when I do."

If _you do._

She gave a roar at that and suddenly the energy crackled again, angrier this time. He felt her eyes shift to an angry red. Within seconds, he saw how she'd pictured the door in her head–wood and material. Heard her chant to herself the mantra she'd decided to hold on to,  _I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you._ She felt her mind pulse tentatively as she pictured the inside of the room, felt her mind race at the sight of the twisted lock that was keeping her out. Kylo Ren waited with baited breath as the lock shivered and shook within the next few moments. She was groaning out of effort, out of her anger. The neighbor's confusion was morphing into annoyance and intrigue. But all his mind could focus on was the well of power emanating from her efforts. 

With a click, the door came open and slammed against the wall. Rey charged forward with a twisted tendril of euphoria, though whose exactly it was coming from, he didn’t know. You can never tell with the bond. She grabbed him in her hands tightly but he didn't flinch even as her thumbs dug in his ribs. She eyed him dangerously, her eyes brimming crimson with barely contained anger. 

_"You."_ Her voice had dropped an octave and her mind was wide open, her anger a stark shadow at the front of her mind. He pushed at it harshly and it physically hurt her that she'd fell backwards on her back on the floor. The red was gone from her eyes, but the determination was still there. Good. He pushed his way inside her head again, with a little strain this time, her anger was clouding her head. But he pushed it aside just the same. She sat up to look him dead in the eye, and now it was a battle of wills. His mind pushed at hers and she pushed back, willing her thoughts to fly to the back of her mind, and very gingerly, putting up a wall to block him out. It made her groan aloud, the effort was putting strain on her muscles, pulling them taut, and pulling out whimper after whimper from her.

"Get out of my head." She ground out, pushing him back forcefully. It was working, but it was working really slowly. It was success nonetheless. He pushed harder, making her lips tremble and that was when he felt it at the same time her eyes steeled at her resolve. With one mighty shove, she threw him out of her head and the snap in their connection made them both physically throw their heads back. Rey was panting out of exhaustion but Kylo Ren recovered quickly, looking pleased with himself. 

He spoke up first, or, rather, said it in her tired head. _If you had meditated, it would have been easier to block me out even in your calm. You wouldn't have needed to use your anger to throw the door open._ He felt the sinking realization from Rey's end of the bond but knew she was still angry. He gracefully went down from her bedside table and crept outside her bedroom. He knew mental excursions can hurt the same way physical excursions did so he'd leave her for now, letting her anger surround her like a dark cloud. 

_It's going to subside soon. Get some rest._

Without a word, Rey obliged. 


	2. Forms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of have an idea where this is going, I just hope I get to pull it off as best as I could. I apologize if the POVs may be confusing at this chapter. I wanted to show that they were kind of unknowingly drifting together to form one mind or something like that.

Kylo felt wave after wave of exhaustion from her through the bond as she hefted herself tiredly from her position on the floor. The anger was still there, and the scent of her sweat against her back was still strong on his nose. He wriggled his nose and tried to sneeze the smell out. He perched himself up on her open windowsill, where the view overlooked the street below. Rey lived in front of a small diner. 

Kylo Ren snorted. How very convenient. Now he knew why there was a decided lack of cooking utensils or food items in the fridge, other than a few fruits, a lone tub of something white and frosty in the freezer and at least three boxes of milk. The same milk he'd taken this morning. Night had started to roll in, and he kept still on the sill, letting the air around him calm his nerves. He hadn't tried to pry inside her mind once she'd lost consciousness. Knowing anything more about her was crucial, but at her state, it would be inconvenient for both of them. Although Kylo was harsh and brutal at times, given that he was, after all, a demon, and prone to bouts of aggression, he knew control through meditation, and centering himself. 

Tentatively, he started grooming himself again when he'd felt the urge. His animalistic urges were becoming more prominent now, but the part of him that was human was kept alive. It was just hard to override the program of his current form. So he relented. He licked at the length of his black legs for at least 10 seconds before hearing the soft rustle of a door opening. 

The bond flared up instantly as he felt her stand behind him on the windowsill. 

"I'm not sure if I should be angry with you," she began, and when he craned around to look at her, her eyes were bloodshot, her skin was pale, her cheeks streaked with dried fluids and her eyes a tired shade of brown. 

_You should be angry._ He replied, and he watched as she held her gaze to her feet. He wasn't sure if she was too hurt or too embarrassed to look at him properly.  _But as you have previously seen, being angry doesn't always get you where you want to be faster._

 "You still went through my stuff," she blurted. The edge was back, and now he knew it was from when he'd touched her family portrait. 

_I apologize again._

The windowsill was large enough for the both of them, so she bounced on her toes and sat beside him, bending one leg in front of her and letting the other dangle outside in the cold evening air. She'd changed into a pair of pajamas this time, her hair was still up, and around her shoulders was a blue fleece blanket that looked like it had seen better days. 

"I'm sorry you had to be stuck with someone like me." She said after a while. He constantly tried to ignore the urge to curl in on himself and lie on her lap. 

_It's alright._ And it really was. Despite the immediate disappointment he'd felt towards her after he'd learnt he'd bonded with a kicked out witch, the way he saw her with all her raw potential in the presence of anger had somehow satisfied and piqued his earnest interest. He wasn't really fond, however, of the way her mind didn't seem to shut up once she was up and about. She was like a firecracker, bursting with boundless energy. And that was a good thing when she was channeling all her energy in a fight but when she was all but sitting across him on a windowsill, it felt like a thousand alarm clocks ringing all at once. 

_Stop thinking._ He found himself sternly warning her through the bond. Rey lifted her head but only gave him an apologetic smile. 

_Go ahead_ , he sighed,  _talk_. 

She looked startled, and then upset with herself that she didn't notice he'd seen past her defenses again. It took her at least a minute to close her eyes and try to strengthen her senses a little. It worked. But only by a small fraction. Kylo Ren decided not to push. He was waiting for her question. 

"How did you become a cat?"

Easy enough, he told himself, and focused instead on grooming as the urge to huddle closer to her for warmth crept up again. He decided grooming himself was the lesser evil. He nipped at the side of his waist for an itch and gave a curt response through the connection.  _I was punished._

He heard her chuckle right after he'd licked his lips free of his fur. And then he started licking at his paw pads, still fighting the urge to seek her warmth. Damn his cat body. 

"That makes both of us." 

He looked at her incredulously, as though what she'd said had personally offended him. She picked up on the emotion he projected quick and unintentional through their bond. 

"Sorry."

_I was not punished for my incompetence._

"Rub it in, will you?" She joked dejectedly, and then pulled both of her legs against her chest. "Why were you punished then?"

He decided how best to tell her. Then settled with just blatantly stating what he'd done. _I burned some of my fellow demons._ He refused to look at her again, contenting himself with just the emotions that accompanied her facial expressions through the bond. Amusement. His head swiveled so fast it hurt. There was a small smile on her lips, small, but not lacking amusement.

"You  _burned_  your fellow demons? But aren’t you guys supposed to be invincible?" Her tone was unabashedly joyful and before he realized what she was doing, she began kneeling in his direction and training her gaze on his face. "Why?" The interest never ebbed away. 

_They were irritating._ He gave another curt answer.  _And they were lesser demons._

At that she sat back, a playful smirk on her lips. 

"So if I irritate you, you'd burn me, too?"

_You already irritate me._

"And yet I'm still alive."

_I have need of you yet. And then maybe, maybe I can burn you._

"I'll become strong enough to fight you back, one day."

He shot her a teasing look, or, as teasing as his cat form can muster.

_I highly doubt it._

She snorted again.

"That's ironic. Considering I'm technically under your tutelage. If I don't beat you, then that's an affront to your teaching skills." 

A feeling akin to joy filled him at the sound of her acknowledging his teachings. He lifted his head and peered at her through his golden eyes. 

_An apprentice will never beat its master._

"Oh," she was testing their bond again, trying to project her determination a little harder to convince him, "I will. Just you wait."

_I might just hold you to that._

They lapsed into silence after a while. Rey looked at the clock. It was 3AM. She'd slept well into the night after her mental activities taxed her. She glanced back at the cat and noticed that he was wide awake. Of course, she thought, he was a cat. Her curiosity flared within her at the sight and feel of him in her mind, and how he seemed so cloaked in mystery. She tried to start with something simple to ask him, something comfortable, probably, about him. He was taking questions anyway, what was one more?

"So," there was instant annoyance on his face as she started, but she continued on despite the nerves it brought her to see his bored face. "Tell me about your realm."

Kylo Ren felt genuine interest from her, it was seeping towards his end of the bond, and it irked him. But he decided that this would help, it would make her understand his origins though he’d decided on only sharing a minimal part of his beginnings, and perhaps make his co-existence with her a little more bearable. 

_Fine_ , he relented,  _anything specific you want to know?_

Rey thought a moment, and he waited patiently on his haunches, reading her face. She still looked tired from their "meditation lesson," but her mind was working overdrive. It was a constant vortex of thoughts he couldn't pick apart when she was overthinking, it was like being blinded by many different things all at once, like fruitlessly grasping understanding and never quite catching it. After a while, her eyes lit up with interest. "What  _are_  you, exactly?"

_I'm a demon._

"Yes, but like, what do you do? What do demons do?"

_Demons are aggressive creatures and are often at war with each other. It's a tiresome life._  He tried to explain as well as he could, but the confused look on her face told him she was having a hard time understandinh. She remained quiet, thankfully so. He continued. 

_We are strong, but volatile. But though we fight often, we find peace, too. Through treaties. And despite our many enemies, we find ways to either convince them of a treaty or win over them._

"Which method do you typically employ?"

_Victory, of course, over treaty. Demons would trade democracy just for the chaos. It's our kind. But when there is immediate benefit for us, we relent to a treaty. A curt co-existence._

"But don't you get tired of all that chaos, though?"

_No. It's not in our nature to hesitate during wars. It's our nature to start them._

"Is everyone from the underworld so violent?"

He was seeing her unmasked interest playing out on her face.  _No. There are six realms with different beings. The highest realm holds the Gods, they are an ignorant and oblivious kind. Then there are our kind, the demons. Then there's the Human world._

He blinked at her.  _That's your kind._

This seemed to have startled her _._ "I'm human?"

_Yes,_ he replied,  _do you not know this?_

Her embarrassment flashed in the bond, and gave her cheeks a pink flush. In the moonlight, it looked to be redder. But Kylo was more confused at the way she had asked the question. As though she truly wasn't aware. And she wasn't, he could see that, and it turned his confusion into annoyance. Skywalker had proved his incompetence once more. But he didn't say that aloud. 

"When Luke took me under his tutelage, I wasn't really.. I didn't really understand what I was. He just said, I was a Witch, that it was a gift, instead of what Humans described as a curse. I-" she hesitated. Kylo Ren waited patiently. "I guess I was just relieved that I wouldn't have to work so hard just for a few scraps of food again. That I finally had something no one could take away. And so I eagerly accepted his training. Unfortunately, though, it seems I make a pretty lousy Witch."

He suddenly remembered the raw sizzle of her power just hours ago, when he’d touched where the force from her mind burned at the fringes of his own. It had been intoxicating for him to feel her energy in the air, wild and untamed, and thought that perhaps, to the Witch Academy, she was lousy, but to him, she had boundless potential. So he said what he thought, honestly, and it surprised her. 

_I, for one, don't think you're lousy._

Rey seemed to be repelling his words, too intent on the idea that being a bad Witch was what got her kicked out. She was careless, acted too rashly, trusted her instincts too much, and made very poorly thought out decisions that always had disastrous consequences. Luke had shaken his head disapprovingly too many times for her to know this. She felt him console her then, through the bond, but he still sat still, black and patient in front of her. She fought back the urge to reach out. She knew he didn't like it. 

"You don't?" 

_I don't._  

"Why?" 

His eyes flew to the door.  _When that door flung open, I was already proud of what you've accomplished. And when you pushed me out even though it was taking too much strain on you, you did it anyway. You may make poor decisions and cause troubles within your Academy, but here, your overzealous determination is welcome. It is encouraged. You are stronger than you think, Rey. You just need someone who knows how to teach you._

At this, she blinked at him in disbelief, and then twisted her lips curiously. The twist morphed into a smirk. "And you claim to be that someone?"

_I made you open that door, didn't I? And now your mental defenses aren't so brittle anymore. That's a win-win._

"You have a point."

_Unfortunately, you are going to need more skills than opening doors and snarling at your Master when he's trying to prove a point to make it back to the Academy._

She glanced at him curiously, furrowing her brows. "Back?"

He nodded, skulking towards the kitchen on his paws.  _I'm hungry._ She struggled to follow him to the kitchen and took a stool just seconds after he'd perched on the counter again, leaning his body to his side on one bent front leg. 

"What do you mean 'make it back to the academy'?"

_Rey,_ he began, blinking at her in that bored way again,  _the only way I can free myself from this form is if you finish Witchcraft training. I had prematurely bonded with you on that rooftop. This, I know, because you seemed so very unfamiliar of the bond until it had formed. You have no grasp as to what is supposed to be between a henchman and a full-grown Witch. And you are sloppy, and have not the patience required for meditation. If you finish your Witchcraft training, understanding my purpose as your henchman will be easier. But, like you said, that can't be done unless the Council decides to put you back in so they can take your evaluation of me, and free me from my punishment. Perhaps if I teach you, they will see that you deserve one more chance. This will work in both our favors. You will be back at the Academy, and I will be restored to my original form and back to my realm. Is that not what you want?_

"Well," she hesitated, "it is.."

_But?_

"What?"

_But what?_ He lifted a paw to lick at the back of it and rubbed it across his head.

"I just- I think maybe the reason why I'm not so good at being a witch is because.. well, I'm sort of.. unconventional."

_Yes, we've established that. But_ what _, Rey?_

"I don't think I'm ready."

He frowned.  _You are at least 200 years old—20 in this Realm. That should be enough time to ready yourself._

"I know, it's just– I was just so young then, you know, when I got swept up into all of these new things. I just felt a little.. restricted, somehow, like I had traded Witchcraft training for my freedom. Like I lost my freedom because nothing really changed. There were rules at the Jakku orphanage, and there were rules at the academy. It's all the same routine. A part of me was actually glad of this exile." She released a short, pathetic sort of laughter. It was devoid of actual joy. 

"Because for once, no one was keeping track of what I was doing. No one was deciding whether it was wrong or if it deemed punishment."

He didn't have to sift in her head to determine whether or not what she said was true, her whole being was flipping open to him through the bond like a well-worn book, tattered, but its contents still mesmerizing. He tried desperately to find something to say in order to make her feel less of what she was feeling whenever there was talk of the Academy or the death of her parents. 

_Make no mistake_ , he began, and when she looked up, her eyes were shinning;  _I won't pass judgment on you. Won't keep track of everything you do just so I could say which is wrong and which is proper, but I will punish you if need be. You are stubborn, Rey, and that is not always good._

She knew that he was saying the truth and she understood that his intentions for her were noble and that whatever his punishment might be, it would be just. So she accepted his statement with a nod and wordlessly slipped to the fridge. After pulling it open, she fished out the milk carton again. Kylo sighed. 

_Is there any fish?_

Kylo Ren had leapt to the counter directly beside the fridge and peaked inside. He saw the face Rey made when he'd asked, and the sigh that slipped through the bond was undoubtedly from him. She looked at him in shame and confessed, "I wasn't really prepared for you to come, though. I never wanted a pet."

That offended him again, and he threw her a sharp look. Frantically, she waved her hands in front of her. "I mean– it's just, I didn't graduate and yet.. and yet we bonded, like you said, on that rooftop, and now you're here and I have to feed you and help you and.. it was just all so sudden. Sorry."

He couldn't argue with that, even he was surprised at the bond. It was so rare to be bonded so fast like they had. Perhaps there was a reason, but Kylo Ren couldn’t be bothered to know what it was yet. Rey was tapping a finger on her chin and he felt the ruckus inside her head through the bond. 

"Take-out?" 

He had no idea what the word meant but the way she said it made him feel hopeful.  _Anything that would give me a chance to eat real, chewable food, please._

She bit her lip, holding back a laugh, and then placed a hand over a phone on the side of the countertop. She bounced on her toes again and sat on the cold marble. Kylo laid down close beside her, but not so close like he'd done earlier. The desire to huddle in for warmth was still there, and he stubbornly dismissed it. 

"Yes. Scallop pizza. And one that's all-meat. Yes." Her hands found the back of his neck again and then rubbed at it. His spine tingled at the sensation. Her fingers were slender and delicate and he decided he liked that, too, so he let her touch him until the call had ended. He felt her hands beneath his front legs and his eyes shot open, the bond drowned in pleasant surprise between them at the sensation. Rey was taking him to the sofa. In her arms. 

As much as Kylo Ren didn't want to acknowledge it, he'd known from the start that, on top of being practically a wellspring of boundless energy, she was also undeniably beautiful. He cursed himself, feeling his hackles rise. _Pathetic_. This tiny inkling of wanton desire was _pathetic_. This made Rey stop in the middle of the living room. A small part of him—the dangerously cat-like part of him—trembled when she'd taken him out of her arms, craving for that blasted warmth again. She looked at him with concern and Kylo Ren noted that it must have been from the way his hackles rose, she might have thought he was in some sort of panic. 

Which he was. Sort of. But he didn't tell her or project it through the bond.

"Sorry," Rey apologized, setting him down to the floor. Instantly, he leapt to the couch and curled in on himself, lamely trying to hide his embarrassment from her. Rey sat beside him in silence and flicked the TV open to a Human television show. Kylo Ren craned his head towards the light of the device. The box fascinated him, and how other Humans were walking and talking in them. But they didn't seem to be bothered that Rey was watching them. He unintentionally let his curiosity bleed through the bond, and Rey was happy to provide him with an answer. 

"It's called a TV." She pressed a little button on another smaller rectangle, and the image in the box changed. The people, the scenery, the language, they changed, too. And suddenly, he was watching with rapt attention, sitting on his haunches beside her. She'd stopped at a food channel, where a Human was preparing something red and looked like fish. Kylo darted his rough tongue out to lick at the edges of his mouth. He'd been so engrossed that he hadn't noticed when Rey stood up to get the door. 

When she came back, she held two more boxes, this time, they were flat and inscriptions were stamped on their sides. Warmth immediately hit him when she set the box down on the floor to sit in front of them. He jumped from the couch and stepped on top of one of the flat boxes to curl around on himself again, instantly sighing out at the warmth. 

"Hey," Rey warned playfully, but she flicked the flat box—the one he wasn't sitting on—open. This time, the scent that came from it was not only warm, but smelt strongly of food, too. So he'd set his paws down and tentatively sniffed at the red circle sitting at the bottom of the flat box. He gave it another sniff. 

_It's food._ He stated, trying to make sense of what food it actually was. 

Rey nodded, and then four of her fingers disappeared beneath one side of the circle and an elongated triangle transferred to her palm. He blinked in fascination, but he wasn't careful enough that he let it bleed in the bond as well. 

"It's called pizza." Then she bit into it with glee. She talked even when her lips were bunched with the food, Kylo Ren's eyes were trained on the red sauce on top of the triangles, now he noticed, was arranged to form the circle. 

_Pizza_. 

She opened the cover of the second flat box and another circle came into view. The scent was distinctly seafood. 

"Dig in," Rey encouraged, but he was no longer listening. He clawed at the piece of bread, and munched happily. 

 

* * *

 

Rey kept what little was left of the pizza and chucked them inside the fridge. She meant to re-heat it in the morning since it was Sunday and she wasn't planning on going anywhere. Kylo had been satisfied with the pizza, the bond had thrummed and hummed as he munched, but his small cat stomach could only take so much. So the half of his pizza was most of the leftovers. Rey's was only left with one slice, she hadn't really eaten anything that morning, and in the afternoon, she'd been too busy trying to kill her new house guest. 

It was 5AM now, and she needed to go back to bed. Kylo followed her when she made to go back to her bedroom but stopped at the threshold. Rey looked at him curiously. 

"Well," she began, letting her hair down, "Aren't you going to come in?" 

He looked up at her, his golden eyes swimming with uncertainty.  _Wouldn't that upset you?_

She shrugged, sitting down on the edge of her bed and patting the covers out of impulse. "Why would it?"

She felt the hesitance trickle from him in the bond. It was the first time she'd felt him unsure of his actions, like he had been purposefully trying hard to gauge whether or not what he did was to her liking or not. She gently tried to push against his mind, but she met a barrier. Kylo Ren frowned when he'd realized what she was trying to do. 

_You could just ask._

"I did."

_I went through your stuff. And, I looked at your photo._

"Yeah, but it's cold out there. And I know you’ve been hoping to sit on my lap all day."

Kylo gave a full-body flinch, his tail stiffening behind him. She smirked knowingly, and vaguely, he remembered the small tugs against his mind whenever he tried to fight the urge to huddle close to her. Wordlessly, and because this was merely convenient for him, _only_ because this was convenient for him, he leapt on her bed and closed the door with his mind. He curled in on himself at her belly and closed his eyes and his end of the bond to any smart retort she might say. Thankfully, she lied down quietly and soon they were drifting away together.

 

* * *

 

Rey woke up at 2PM the next day, rubbing her eyes lazily and letting out a yawn. Stretching her limbs, she tried to sit up. A weight shifted against her stomach and she realized with a small startled huff that Kylo Ren was still on her stomach, staring at her through his golden eyes. She stared right back at him, thinking he'd blurt out something unnervingly smug again and with that certainty that bothered her because it told her that he was more experienced in the things she hoped to be. 

But he said nothing, simply stared at her face. Rey took the moment to study him closely. She'd never had much time to do this a day and a half ago when she'd first met him. The bond had been enough to keep her distracted. And the second time, he was pushing her buttons hard for some sick attempt to get her to see his point. It had worked, much to her disdain, and it made looking at his smug face all the more frustrating. But he'd helped her see with clear eyes through the energy around her, and she suddenly couldn't fault him for that. 

Her eyes zeroed in on his black cat face, at his whiskers that were somehow, a shade darker than his fur, which shone in the slight afternoon glow. His face was slightly broad, his nose ending in an elegant button from his protruding mouth. His ears were rounded, but stayed upright, always alert. His body was flexible and graceful, because he was a cat, but it held a sort of gruff quality to it, like he'd been somehow huge and wide, and some form of cosmic punishment had stuffed him into such a rudimentary creature. 

His soft agreement brought her back from her musings.  _It is quite rudimentary, I agree._

She concluded she'd been projecting again, so she tried to bring her mind under her control by closing her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, a question popped in her head, but she didn't mean for him to answer it, it was more thinking aloud than requiring an answer. Just  like all the instances that happened, Kylo heard the question in her mind as clearly as though she’d said it aloud.

_I don't see how knowing my appearance would make it any easier for you to comprehend that I am a different being from this form._

"It won't," she sighed, "but it'll help me to kind of.. relate to you, I guess. In a way humans do."

Kylo Ren weighed her reply silently, idly swishing his tail in thought. It occurred to Rey that they were still lying in bed together. She refused to go down that line of thinking. 

_Perhaps I could show you._ Suddenly, the very slight amount of comfort she associated with the low rumble of his voice dissipated so that his voice was just an ominous rumble reverberating inside her head, promising dark and unkind things.

Interest rolled out of her in waves and it distracted Kylo enough that when she'd sat up, he fell onto his back awkwardly, before righting himself. She suppressed a laugh at his actions but waited patiently before saying yes. Kylo Ren noted with no small amount of disgust that her breath now smelled of the circular thing they'd eaten a few hours ago. He padded his paws quietly onto her thighs and seated himself on her lap, his claws dug slightly through her pajamas, but she stubbornly ignored them. 

"Show me! Show me! " She chanted excitedly. Like an infant. He mumbled it loud and clear through the bond. It did nothing to dampen her curiosity. When he made no move to show her, she tilted her head. "Hey, nothing's happening."

_Are you sure you want to see?_

Rey blinked back at him and then nodded. 

He shrugged, that's what she wanted and so he'd give it to her. He padded up to her stomach again, when she'd complained out of confusion, he ignored it. He dug his claws a little past her clothes and she yelped, but she lied down and got the message. He lowered his head closer to her and pressed his small forehead against hers. 

_Don't scream._

The bond was instantly filled with trepidation but he ignored it. 

A shock of black rolled into her mind just then, heavy and thick and everywhere like a never ending nightmare. Rey found herself in the middle of the darkness and she swiveled her head for a trace of anything. And then, through the inky blackness, a string of blue and white danced from a spot beneath the floor and moved silently in the windless cavern. But then it disappeared. Roaring flame erupted from where the blue and white had harmlessly sprung forth, and from the blaze, limbs began to form, fiery and an angry orange. The color shifted, it became a pale tangerine and turned into a blinding white, but the flame kept lighting itself anew, like a candle that never stopped burning. 

To her horror, the burning man inched towards her, eyes rimmed with fire; everything rimmed with fire. But when he touched her, there was no burn, no sear, or the painful melt of skin against flame. There was a strange cold sensation and then the flame morphed into something different. The licks of flame receded and the limbs became the same shade of inky blackness around her, plated with iron and solid, and then it swelled, at least four or five or six times the size it had been. The length of the flaming man's body stretched also, seemingly of no end, between the top of her head and the tip of his nose. His legs became thick, bark-like pieces of extremities curled backwards that it told her they were hind legs. The tips of his feet were long, solid cloven hooves that were smudged with drops of blood at the end, both dried and brand new. And suddenly, she saw that the floor beneath her was glowing red with blood. And that she was stepping on what looked like a chopped off Human arm. 

She stared up in horror as his face became all sharp line and angles. Spikes protruded from his cheekbones and his ears turned into long elf-like inky black masses. Similar looking spikes grew from his head, two symmetrical conical atrocities rolling out angrily to the back of his head, the end of its tip reaching to one bicep. Horns, she realized with growing fear. His teeth were a sickening shade of green–one that absolutely didn't remind her of wildlife and green beautiful things. In his eyes were the shift of burning flame he'd been in earlier—she'd much preferred that to this. He reached up to grab her in his large hands, his claws nearly chopping her head clean. She stayed paralyzed as he pulled her closer and she realized with horror that he was going to devour her and chomp her inside his mouth. 

Something didn't allow her to move and as her tears slipped down her cheeks wordlessly, her body slid inside the demon's mouth and everything went black. 


	3. Things We Have To Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A double update? Lol. I'm actually supposed to be writing/editing some pieces right now for school work, but, alas, here I am instead.

She awoke with a start just 30 minutes after.. no, she didn't want to think about it. There was a weight on her chest that told her the cat didn't leave her. The very same cat who ate her. 

"You ate me?!" She screeched, sitting up suddenly. She wished he'd fallen awkwardly again, so that she could just laugh it off, or at least laugh at him and his laughably fragile new form. But the bark-like hind legs and the flaming eyes were still fresh in her mind, and the solid claws–

 _I did not._ He sounded almost offended, his tongue stopping mid-lick at his dark paw. She pushed in the bond and crashed headfirst, his previous thoughts were at the forefront. He wasn't lying. But he was a Demon, too. So he _could_ be lying. 

"You did!" She accused, standing upright and pointing a finger angrily at him. Kylo Ren simply shook his head. Rey tried not to imagine horns protruding from a large angry skull. 

_I didn't eat you. Your brain supplemented that information._

Her mind was already a whirlwind of fear. She could even taste the darkness in her mouth, sharp and terrifyingly bitter. Not the kind for consumption. The image of him in his Demon form dug a pit in her stomach that kept getting deeper the more she thought about it. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted telling him to show her. She shouldn't really be too angry. She did, after all, decide she'd wanted to see him. But she had been expecting something else. Something that mimicked her reality, something Human. Didn't Demons take human forms? To, like, lure people into the underworld? Wasn't that a thing? 

It was stupid to expect he'd look Human. He wasn't Human to begin with. Still, her curiosity bubbled over and despite her discomfort, she tried to ask him. 

"Don't you have a Human form, or something?" She felt him scoff through the bond as his agile cat body jogged towards the bean bag a little a ways from the bed. When he sank down, there was that annoyed huff that came with his words whenever he felt like making her feel inferior. 

Which was often.  _I do not decide what I look like as a human. The Realm Kings do. Yes, I have a Human form. But what use it is to me now. In it I possess only a small fraction of my power._  He resumed licking his paws. 

She thought back to the way he'd frozen time the first night they met, and his ability to move things with his mind. Could he teleport, too? 

"You said my brain supplemented the part of you... the part of you eating me," she swallowed, and it felt like she was pushing down her fear past her throat. "Why?"

He rested his chin on his front paws and a thoughtful buzz echoed through the bond. He was contemplating how best to explain it. Of course he was. She'd never been privy to Demon forms. Her education on cat familiars was minimal. As far as she knew, cat familiars were fellow witches who'd flunked Witchcraft training miserably, not cursed Demons. But Kylo didn’t become a cat for flunking, no, he’d become a cat for showing such a terrifying amount of power.

 _Our true form_ , he began, training his eyes on her, _is unfathomable to mankind. Your brain made a slim connection between my form and what is the most plausible course of action I would take in it. Out of your fear, you decided that I would eat you. And so, I did._

She was going crazy. She even thought he'd raised an eyebrow at her just to tease her. 

"I  _made_  you eat  _me_?"

_It seems you have, yes._

She hobbled out of the bedroom, more out of a need to clear her mind. Two days of living with a cursed Demon in a cat's body was making her go crazy. She threw a look over her shoulder and made sure the cat wasn't following her. She passed a mirror and looked at herself, still in her pajamas, still grossly pale, but she fished her house keys and decided that taking a walk in her pajamas in the park was the lesser demon than the black little monstrosity in her apartment. 

The apartment was drenched in darkness when she returned. Kylo Ren was nowhere to be seen, blending in the dark. Her mind had cleared a lot better since leaving the house, and maybe now they could properly talk about the situation. This, she decided was the reason it had been so hard for her to digest all these new information. Because they didn't talk enough. He'd already made it clear to her that he was a Demon from the start, and she needed to show him that she understood, that she was as invested in the situation as much he was. Perhaps it’ll help make living together easier. 

Besides, she thought, it's not like she was living with Demon form Kylo. Kylo, as it was now, was just a cat, so perhaps she could ignore the fact of his true form as long as she dared ignore it.

 _You had better brought back something edible._ The familiar rumble of his voice in her head made her smile unnecessarily. His body surreptitiously appeared in front of her, golden eyes glowing so brightly in the darkness of the room that it looked like two levitating yellow stones. His gaze on her was hard, and he was touching the edges of their bond with an apology. She thought about the bond, too, and decided to keep it open for him. Maybe that'd make them more comfortable with each other. Maybe the openness can ease the tension with which they had been treading; maybe it might even make him stop being snarky. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

She crouched in front of him as his eyes followed hers. "Kylo."

She bit her lip before letting the words go. She wasn't entirely sure if he'd accept her proposition, but if it would make this arrangement easier for the both of them, she was going to risk it. "I've decided that I'll keep my end of the bond open for you."

The cat raised an eyebrow, a fleeting trace of surprise sparked in his golden eyes, and through the bond, a soft prodding. He was pushing past her bulwarks and she let him, saturating him in her thoughts. After a while, the warm buzz that was forming withdrew and then she was alone in her mind again. He'd only just dipped in for a second, but the warm feeling lingered in the corners of her mind. She decided she liked the way he felt like in her head. 

 _Thank you,_ was his unanticipated response. Rey's eyes shot open but before she could say anything, Kylo had already spun around, passing the light switch and then opening it with his mind. 

And then he was gone, holed up inside her room as she heard the faint click of her lock. Rey from two years ago, slightly drunk, frantic, hurting Rey would have completely bolted down the hall to slam her fists on the door to get him out. But now, Rey just let him. After all, she could open the door just as easily from the outside as if she was on the inside. She had to give him some credit after all.

 

* * *

 

 

The girl had opened her mind to him. 

He kept the euphoria from her when he'd felt the warmth of her mind, and how it stayed with him even if he was out. It was... a curious experience, also, strangely, gratifying. He saw her everywhere, everywhere he turned was a version of her, a scene from her life playing out in front of him. The Academy, the death of her parents, the orphanage, and then it had all become too much. Overwhelmed by the sincerity behind her declaration, he had dived in so suddenly, uncaring of the things it might do to him. Now, he carried fragments of Rey’s memories like they were his own. Kylo had no idea what to make of her decision, but he pushed in easily without much thought. Curiosity killed the cat, didn't it? But it wasn't his death he was worried about, no, he was immortal only otherwise the Realm Kings deemed he was not. What he feared was, what this new development might do to their relationship. 

It wasn't like there was an actual type of 'relation' between them. He was still fairly loath to admit how she, and her cunningly innocent ways, seemed to pull out his blasted cat instincts from him like it had simply been dangling on a string. It was frustrating to have to just be led by instinct when he had been so powerful before. When he'd shown her his form, he dwelled and thrived on the thick tendrils of fear surrounding her but it also left him feeling unhappy that she would exude that much fear. That her brain had been too consumed of her fear that the only thing she would imagine him do to her was hurt her. 

When he explained that part to her, he didn't expect outright understanding, he knew the shock would be there, it always was. He'd been so used to the shock, so used to the fear that made her think the same way others had. So why did he feel so very  _pathetic_  after seeing her fear, after tasting it? Why did it matter to him, after a thousand years, what a single girl thought of him? He shook his head and looked at his paws the same way one might look at a pair of human hands, as though willing his mind to wilt the fur away and give way to skin coating muscle and bone. 

Why had he felt like he wanted to be human when she’d hoped for him to be? 

 

* * *

 

 

Rey disappeared early after the weekend, tugging at the bond as he stirred slightly from the intrusion to tell him she had what mortals called 'work' in which she gets money for more food. Kylo Ren had easily dismissed her and went back to sleep. He heard water cascading from the bathroom he now knew was directly adjacent to her bed. She came out with a towel wrapped around her, baring her legs to him. He almost laughed at how easily she fell back into her old nonchalant character after the terrifying reveal of his true form. But maybe, as he watched her disappear behind the bathroom door again with clothes in tow, it was what made Rey a little different than the average mortal, or, half mortal. Witches only came in two kinds after all. The half mortals and the purebreds. And purebreds only came in a few hundred years, and their numbers were scarce. 

She emerged outside a moment later, put together and with hair pushed up in a ponytail. She excused herself and told him glibly to levitate a milk carton and pour it in a bowl if he was hungry. She chucked a few things in her bag, a square thing, dangling silvers he now knew as keys, and what looked like a spiked cylinder she ran through her hair, and then left. He stretched. Maybe he would levitate a milk carton, he didn't know, or levitate her bed, or meditate. He looked around and sighed to himself. Without her here, there wasn't really anyone he could bother, so he slunk out of her room and pounced on her windowsill to descend the length of the fire escape stairs and try his hand at the city in daylight. 

 

* * *

 

 

Kylo Ren wandered thoughtlessly, padding through streets and jumping over fences, observing people from low rooftops or balconies or on top of closed garbage dumpsters. The Human world had so many interesting things. It was a never-ending spectacle of things he hadn't seen before. He knew what restaurants looked like, and what they did. They littered the human world everywhere, and people in them were always gorging themselves in their hunger. Kylo wasn't really familiar with hunger in his realm. His world had a kill or be killed kind of dynamic, so there wasn't much time for sustenance. Since he was strong within the bounds of his world, sustenance was of little need. 

He noticed a bicycle passing in front of him and blinked curiously at the rotating disks attached to a metal frame where a Human was kicking pedals that made the discs rotate. A woman off the side of the road held a tiny box to her ear, something he now recognized as some sort of communication device, the very same instrument Rey had used to order what Mortals called Pizza. He jumped onto the fire escape stairs of a neighboring building and leapt onto the rooftop. This building was a little higher, and he enjoyed the cold gust of wind around him. 

Maybe a cat form wasn't so bad. Cats loved to feel superior, too, and that’s not at all far from what he wanted. Idle, day-to-day movements continued beneath him, the Humans too consumed in their own lives to care about a cursed cat-demon watching them. He watched distractedly as a pair of Humans—a man and a woman—were attached at the hip in a dark alleyway. The woman was clothed and making faces he'd never even seen Rey make but the man was slotted between her legs rather awkwardly, through his eyes. He was making faces, too, and his breathing was hot and labored. He turned away. Humans were outlandish beings. 

A rustle in the apartment unit below him made him turn inquisitively; a young woman was fitting her legs into the small window. Boring. Familiar energy crackled and hit him like a rock. His eyes shifted to the form. The woman appeared outside minutes later, and the black bag he'd seen this morning was now stuffed with something he knew wasn't hers. She'd sneaked into someone else's house, after all, and he knew exactly who she was. 

He shadowed her silently, making no unnecessary noises so she wouldn't know he was there. He was veiled from her mind, too, it had taken only a small amount of energy to cast an invisibility charm from her. And now she was going about her 'work,' oblivious to a pair watchful golden eyes. The small box thing, he now saw, was what looked like a mirror. She used it to was press something on her face. Something that looked like dust. It took him a while to figure it out, but the true purpose was in the reflection. She'd been monitoring another Human from behind her. The Human was rattling off to another box against her ear, and when she'd disappeared into a large, mobile box with windows in them, Rey made a move towards the apartment, vanished inside, and went out, black bag somehow thicker than before. 

Kylo Ren wasn't blind. He knew what she was doing. But he didn't say anything. He was in no position to do so. Another Mortal saw her, lips pulling apart to form the beginnings of a shout, but she held her hand up to his face just in time, and swept it in the air side to side, muttering something under her breath. Slowly, the man's eyes glazed over, and turned back to his routine like he'd never seen her. She disappeared into a back alley and Kylo trailed behind her when she emerged on the other side. A grocery sat just across the street and he watched as she pushed her way inside and came back out a few minutes later with a brown paper bag of food. It wasn't even midday and she looked ready to come home. 

Demons didn't need to pay for anything to get what they want, they just took, so the ethics of her actions were none of his concern. But he couldn't help but feel that something like this didn't sit well within this Realm. Humans liked order, that's why they made their society the way it was. A Witch breaking the rules was one thing, but a Witch discovered breaking the rules was another. He slipped away noiselessly and left to get home before Rey could. 

 

* * *

 

 _You're a thief._ He said simply, after letting her put her groceries on the counter. He didn't want the unnecessary mess startling her would cause. Nevertheless, her keys flew out of her grip from the surprise and he followed its trajectory with his eyes as it landed on the wooden floor. 

"What?" She spat, breath suddenly ragged as she frantically reached for her keys. Kylo Ren stared at her and repeated.  _You're a petty thief._

"You don't know what you're talking about." And now she was putting away colorful items into the frozen white box that held his fish. There was panic in her movements and her face was growing pale, her breathing continuing to weigh down on her. He was suddenly grateful her side of the bond was open because in it, he saw a hysterical need to keep her panic at bay. Which she was already failing miserably at. 

 _Why?_ He asked with interest when she had finished. 

She looked at him then, quick and kind of crazed, her lips pressing tight together and a slight sweat forming on her brow, meeting down in the middle out of frustration. "You followed me." 

It was an angry accusation. Kylo Ren was not fazed. 

_Why do you steal?_

"Did you follow me?"

 _Yes._ He opened his end of the bond and let her feel his honesty. She physically took a step back and her hip found the lip of the counter. Her palms immediately flew to her face and when a growl emanated from her mouth, he knew she did not like what he had done. He sat awkwardly on the floor, looking around him. Every time he tried confronting her, some kind of intense emotion became her response, and every time, he had no idea how to solve it. 

He waited until her evened out and her eyes didn’t look so crazed. 

"Life was hard here, Kylo." She mumbled. She said his name so weakly, not angrily or neutrally, but this time, spiked thick with emotion and sadness. The dark grey in their bond didn't sit well with him. He had a hard time figuring out why. 

 _And because of that_ , he connected the pieces,  _you stole_. 

"I did," she huffed and laughed humorlessly. Tendrils of her hair had already shook loose from running her fingers aggressively against her scalp, her clothes a little rumpled even at the hems. He didn't fight the urge to curl around in her lap when she sat on the floor. So he did so, looking up at her keenly, waiting for elaboration. He'd been genuinely curious. He didn't even try to stop her when she reached behind his ear out of impulse, as he rubbed his head in her palm. 

"I found work when I first came here. I was very handy." She emphasized with a shake of her free hand. She kept stroking his head. 

"It was just this small mechanical workshop. I had a knack for putting things together and figuring out how each part worked in relation to another. It made my stay somewhat more bearable in this Realm. But then, there was this check thing. That was apparently important. And I couldn't produce any documents that proved my existence, so they kicked me out, even if I'd helped out a lot already. The manager said it was for safety. I had no records in the Human world, because I didn't live in it. Not anymore. My birth records were destroyed when I was transferred to the Witching Academy to avoid a duality. I lived only in a version of it, hidden between malleable walls or deep enough puddles. The manager said he was sorry–" the hand rubbing behind his ears halted momentarily, he tried not to miss it too much, "–but by then I was already miserably trying to put my life back together. 

"All of it was such an ironic twist. I could fix things, but not my life." Her rubbing motions continued and he allowed himself to relax and listen to her story. "I had already rented out this place by then, and now, suddenly, I couldn't pay for it. So I went out to find another job. But they always asked that certificate. And I always didn't have one. When I gave up, I saw a woman being robbed. She was pulling her purse back from a masked man. I tried to offer help, but the man took the lady hostage. The pearls on her neck told me she was rich. I tried to save her, but the man panicked and shot the woman out of nervousness. I felt trepidation bubble from him then, he felt like he was being sliced in half mentally. And then I recognized it, the regret. It wasn't his intention to kill the woman, so he got afraid. He pointed the gun at me, and I flinched, I saw the bullet when it left the barrel and in the name of self-preservation, I sent it back his way and it shot right past his skull, sending a spray of red behind him. He fell to the floor in a blood puddle much like the woman's. It was a terrifying halo of red. 

"But when I looked at the purse in front of me, it was slightly open and money was filing out. I took it and paid my landlord, my guilt consuming me. Over time, it got easier. I just pushed the guilt down. On days I'll forget to pay my landlord, I planted persuasive thoughts in his head and cast a hex on him that makes him forget about me paying the rent every time I say this.. special word. But after that, I always tried to pay on time, every time, so I didn't have to hex him."

Rey's brown eyes met Kylo Ren's smoldering gold orbs, still unnatural in the way they seemed to reflect the crashing waves of the sea in hues of gilded silver and topaz.  _No one has ever caught you._

She chuckled, "I wouldn't say that."

Her fingers were sliding down his spine now. "I got caught so many times, but each time, I would erase their memories just as they were about to cuff me, and I always got away. If gang members catch me, it was easier to just kill them. They were used to that. When I met you, I was already out of work for at least six months. But I never stole from heavily guarded, super rich people. I manipulated bartenders, snatched a couple of dollars from tourists. They were super easy to rob, you know. I only ever stole the amount I needed. On other occasions, I would steal their clothes, too, but by the time they’d find out, I was already gone. Without a trace.” she laughed.   

She pressed her palms onto his small cheeks and made him look at her. He did, but only because the sorrow in them paralyzed him. It was like all the guilt was driving her crazy to keep, and now the dam was breaking. She didn't say anything after the confession, and he was glad for the silence, relaxing into the strokes she gave his body. He yawned once or twice and set his face down on her thigh and closed his eyes. 

She said something after a while, it caught him off-guard more than the story behind her theft. 

"Do you think I'm a bad person?" 

He looked at her then, his flickering golden eyes moving from her face to her stomach, to her hands on the floor and her stretched out legs still wrapped in denim. He shook his head.  _No, I don't._

"You really think so?"

 _You're asking moral advice from a demon? Sure, you're not a bad person._  He answered sardonically. He allowed himself a small smile when she laughed even if it still sounded heavy and unnatural. 

 _Look, Rey,_  he sighed, knowing the look in her eyes was practically begging him to elaborate.  _I am in no position to say anything about your current situation, or what it has led you to do. In my point of view, you have done what you had to survive, given your limits. But you understand that this Realm is on the brink of chaos and order, that a Treaty is only what keeps it afloat._

She knew this from Witchcraft history. It was the most terrifyingly complacent fact in all the Realms. And this was why the Treaty protected the order of the Mortal Realm. It was the only place close to a sanctuary for other creatures, a world as dark and lonely as every other but masked in concepts of peace, and democracy. Kylo sat up and nudged his head forward, urging her to press her forehead against his. He was expecting hesitance from her, especially after what he'd just shown her before when their foreheads pressed together. To his surprise, she leaned down, eyes closed and trusting. 

Beads of sweat met the fur on his forehead as they closed the gap. He drew deep from a forgotten corner of his mind, the part he never liked to admit that was still a part of him. He reached deep for the whispered promises of peace, of quiet mornings, of bathing in the sun, and of sweet, languid kisses from a certain lady with brown hair dusted with slivers of gray. Forgotten memories morphed into a soothing, silvery song, coiling around in distracted circles and breaking free from their imprisonment at the back of his mind. Kylo Ren took a deep breath and tried to sit still on her lap, though the semblance of peace in his head brought a wanton shiver to his shoulders. He imparted her peace and calm, sending wave after wave of warm energy through her. It loosened the tension in her shoulders, dried the tears forming behind her eyes once again, took the shiver from her fingers, and eased the knots in her stomach and the tightness in her heart. Her energy signature became clear and vibrant again, a stark white flame, small but bright, hovering in the expanse of their minds. His was a dark tendril of inky black shadow lined with traces of light, insistent and always moving. 

The signatures existed quietly in the small space, not nearing each other and content from the distance. The bond thickened between them at the contact, a sharp vibration passed through them and pulled their wills closer and joined their minds with a jolt. Fragments of memory streamed between them, a playback of versions of themselves in different places, in different lives. It was the most intimate Kylo had ever been with anyone, like this, bared and open for Rey’s eyes alone.

In the peace, they breathed against each other, mouths open as the bond hummed contently. Kylo Ren was the one who drew away first, and withheld memories scattering back with a hiss as the dark of his mind returned. Concern flashed in his eyes as the sight of Rey panting with eyes closed registered to him. 

 _Are you okay?_ He was panting, too, he realized, and a new warm feeling had resided in his chest. The bond was thicker now, more pronounced, and when he touched at it with his mind, it was even warmer than before, breathing, like a dragon in rest. 

"I'm fine," her breath was passing through her lips. "I'm fine, thanks. You?"

 _Yes_. He panted and somehow found himself smiling. Though, as a cat, it turned out to be a sort of toothy grin that was not at all pleasant to look at. She laughed at the sight of it and spontaneously pulled him close again, nuzzling her nose at the top of his silky head. His muscles tensed. 

He tried to process the information, but his brain short-circuited every time he heard the soft pound of her heart. His cheek was slack against the top of her right breast and her legs were bunched closer so that he was sandwiched in her arms and thighs. But he couldn't back away, couldn't even scratch at her embarrassingly to save his life. All because she was laughing. 

And it was laughter that spoke of true happiness–of relief and thankfulness. It was even more overwhelming through the bond. With each intake of breath, the laughter shook her frame and shook him along with it. It was an unbidden distraction. Her fingers kept stroking at his head down to his spine as she pressed a soft little kiss on his head. 

She was just happy. He told himself, careful not to let his panic bleed into the bond, which, in its current state, was now a little harder to do. 

She was just happy. 

And he was just sharing in her happiness. 

Right. Right. That's all it was. That's all the little flutter in his chest meant. 

 

* * *

 

 

He sat perched on the windowsill looking out of Rey's bedroom at nightfall, his eyes scanning the world around him for danger. The shiftless routine of the humans provided his mind space to think. He knew it was lurking, he could smell it in the air, felt it in the energy around him, he can even hear it, dark tendrils and shadows roaring up the side of her apartment. He'd always managed to keep them off. He wondered how long this would last. He already had to fight off a few human vessels bounding up the fire escape stairs, eyes glassy and movements akin to a soulless mannequin. He can't always stop time on them, that was far too taxing, and with only half of his usually full power reserves, he could only keep them at bay with a few easy-to-cast spells and hexes. Some were easy to dispose of, they had fallen off the stairs with a slight push at their energy signatures, too soft and too disoriented by whatever poison the Demons had given them. Others were a little resilient and wild, even, nearly swiping at his collar or pulling at his fur. He'd managed to ward them off as quietly as he could while Rey tossed and turned in bed. 

They weren't there when Rey was awake, up and about in her apartment. But they were massive and daunting and dark in the night when she lost consciousness. Soon, they won't hold back anymore, and mornings will be as dangerous as evenings. Kylo Ren's brows furrowed. 

He'd tried everything from cloaking spells, invisibility spells, darkening spells, and at least a couple of dark magic incantations to keep them away from her. He turned cautiously towards her direction, the soft moonlit sheen of a protection spell wrapped around her. He didn't even know why she'd seemed such a target. Her potential was boundless but he knew nothing about her that would make anyone from the demon realm want her. She was just a Witch, after all, why does it matter to them if she was alive?

So he kept watch every night, locking his thoughts out from the energy around them and hiding himself from Rey and _their_ detection. They didn't want him back, he could tell that much, but they wanted  _her,_ and he wasn't going to let that happen. He wanted to catch one, at least, one wayward spirit the Demons had commissioned from Hell, those who were too weak to turn down a higher Demon’s command, just so he could extract some sort of information. He figured doing it in her apartment would have been asking for trouble. The girl would ask too many questions, too, and that might seriously give him a headache. Perhaps he'd tell her when she was a little more ready, a little better at practice, and after a run at a beginner spell book at least. But she didn't have one. He'd need to fix that, too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the premise of the certification thing came from the fact that, in this Universe, the Humans know that other creatures exist on Earth. And that not all of them were Human. They needed the certification to kind of tally all Human inhabitants within Earth and Rey was only safe until someone other than Kylo found out that she wasn't recognized as Human within the Mortal Realm. Hence, the low-profile life she had and being a petty thief and hexing people. 
> 
> In Modern Witchcraft, however, Witches don't hex at the expense of other people because they believe in something called the Threefold Law (for every harm you inflict on others, it will return back to you threefold). So don't hate on our modern Witches. And don't hate on me either for having Rey hex someone. I already established she wasn't some sort of righteous character here.


	4. Possessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely proud of this chapter. I honestly don't know what to make of it as it is. But we can't all be at top performance always and this is my uhm, 'mediocre output,' so to speak. Also, my biggest fear is having any sort of continuity error and now that this is beginning to build up, I hope I don't miss too many details as I go.
> 
> Anyways, I've read the comments only recently since I'm trying to juggle everything as of the moment (school, work, those kinds of things) and I'm just absolutely grateful to even have any sort of love/attention for this fic. Y'all are awesome!!

Kylo Ren was undoubtedly a demon. 

But now it was out of the way. He was also a cat, so Rey focused on that instead. She still stole occasionally, when finances dwindled. Kylo never batted an eyelash, but she knew what he wanted her to do to avoid any sort of confrontation. His growing sense of disquiet was more pronounced in her head, along with all of his other emotions. A thick veil kept the rest from snaking across the bond or stubbornly moving to the front of his consciousness. She decided that was okay for now. She didn't mind that her side of the bond was open, she’d take whatever risk she needed to take to make their co-existence easier to maintain. She had nothing to hide from him. Long hours dragged into days, days stretched into weeks, advanced into months. 

Rey was meditating better, fruitfully being able to empty her mind, blinking an eye open only when she'd brought in a vacuum cleaner once and Kylo Ren drew too close. She laughed when she caught him soaring at least two feet in the air out of surprise. Kylo had grumbled through the bond angrily, and stalked in her bedroom, locked it and slept there. She didn't mind the couch, and the ease with which she fell asleep brought a scowl on his face when he sat in front of her and waited for her to wake up the next morning. Clearly, the effort to exact some sort of revenge backfired on him spectacularly. She just shrugged. She’d been in far worse conditions before, sleeping on the couch was the least of her worries.

She'd been touching him more, too, after training, lifting things with her energy or connecting with him through meditation, and he was allowing it. Only until he decided otherwise, that was when he'd slip from her touch and mosey on up to a part of the apartment that was high–like the top of the fridge or outside on the fire escape stairs. 

She'd tried to playfully tackle him, too, on more than one occasion, and was rewarded with scratches on her arms, neck, on the side of her face, and parts of her chest. Just the same, she'd awaken the next day without a scratch. He never said it, but Rey knew the type of minty relief that lingered after a healing spell. She supposed it was his way of apologizing, so when he looked at her vacantly every morning, from his perch on the bean bag, she didn't say anything. 

She smiled at him one night, after a particularly splurged evening. She had just been accepted at a new job. Legal, all of it. Well, mostly. Kylo Ren helped her fabricate a certificate of birth, and she realized it was easy with the help of a couple mind-wipe-and-warp tactics. Kylo was with her every step of the way, watching assiduously through his golden eyes, and swishing his tail idly. When she tucked herself in bed that night, she ran a single finger along his spine. He didn't balk and she was thankful for that. 

"Thank you, Kylo." She murmured against his ear and then drifted to sleep. 

 

* * *

 

 

Kylo watched with interest as Rey flew about the apartment, dusting the cupboards and scrubbing the floors, and tending to the dishes. He'd leant his body easily on the sofa, occasionally scolding her for levitating a chair so distractedly that it nearly collided into him. She apologized each time, sincere, but then she did it again and it pissed him off. He seated himself patiently on the counter, continuing to watch her. He helped her with moving a chair or two now that grooming was done, it wasn't particularly taxing him to move inanimate objects. What fascinated him, however, was the way in which she was doing it, like she wanted everything perfect. 

Then he remembered a human thing she'd told him once before. He recalled it first before asking her. 

 _Is someone.. hanging out..?_ He asked it cautiously, the words somehow brittle as it left his mouth. Rey would have smiled if her mind wasn't so cluttered. She was pretty sure she was irritating him through the bond. Though the blankness of his black face gave nothing away. 

"Yes," she said cheerfully, now finished with scrubbing the sink clean. She took out a few food items from the fridge and arranged them on the counter. Kylo took in all the different colors and textures. "I have friends coming over. From work."

But Kylo was more interested in the different things laid out on the counter. He approached what looked like a plant swathed in what he now recognized as plastic and sniffed at it curiously. Rey swatted him away and he gave a small jump at the surprise and hissed at her. 

"Don't touch, kitty." 

She felt him lash out in the bond at the nickname and prepared herself for the scratch that came with it. It scraped her forefinger as she reached for her vegetables. She pulled her hand back to nurse her bloodied finger, suckling on the skin to take off the blood. 

"You don't like that, don't you?" She said playfully, still sucking her wound. He hissed and his hackles raised, bounding off somewhere in the apartment, away from her. She smirked to herself and kept on cooking. 

When she'd finished preparing, she unlocked her bedroom door to the sight of him on her bed, lying down languorously. He watched as she practically ran to the shower after sniffing her underarm and making a face. She emerged an hour later, undoubtedly clean and her lips a different shade of pink. He stared at her lips and wondered what it was that caused it to change. She fished out a midnight blue dress from her closet and pulled it over her head hastily, trying in vain to pat her hair down. She smoothed the dress and swiveled around in front of the mirror, looking at herself. 

Kylo studied the blue dress she had on. It was made of a silky blue material that almost looked as smooth as his glossy black fur. The back had two rows of metal teeth that he had immediately been curious of, upon seeing, and the scoop at the back of her dress was low enough that it exposed her jutting shoulder blades. That would make her especially vulnerable in a fight. The cloth cinched at the waist, tight over the flat of her stomach. The sleeves were slim pieces of the same fabric that sagged on the top part of her tanned shoulders. He made a face. It would very much leave her vulnerable in a fight. Her legs were exposed, too, the skirt touched the tops of her knees but provided no additional cover past it, so that when she moved, her legs swayed along with her actions. 

"How do I look?"

 _What is the meaning of the attire? Is it a Mortal ritual? Some sort of consecrated robe?_ It was definitely flowy, the hem flying about gracefully when she spun and turned.

"It's just meant so that I look nice. It's nice isn't it? Beautiful?" She turned anxiously at him. He truly didn't know what to say. 

_But it makes you vulnerable. Your chest, and shoulder areas are exposed, and your legs are in full view. If someone were to land a kick on your back or swipe your feet out from under you, they would succeed effortlessly. Or if they were to elbow you at your sides, or run a sword through your chest, you will be reduced to a bloodied mannequin, unable to fight back._

_"_ I’m not going to _fight_ in it." she laughed. “It's just meant to make me look nice, Kylo. Just say it's nice and don't be such a smart-ass." 

He raised a brow. He prodded at the bond and felt her need for affirmation, so he gave it to her, if only to get her out of the room while he slept.  _It's nice._

"Great," she said brightly, slipping on what looked like black sharp-edged shoes, high and pencil-like. It made her look a little taller and bunched up the muscle in her lower legs. That, he observed, could serve as a weapon. 

The sound of the doorbell rattled her again, and she sighed out happily, her excitement flooding the bond. "They're here."

Kylo Ren rolled his eyes and laid his head on his front paws,  _Enjoy_. 

 

* * *

 

 

Finn and Poe came a little later, after she'd successfully managed to make herself look more presentable. They strode in with linked arms and a pair of jovial smiles as they gave the apartment a once over. She smiled brightly at them and invited them to the table. She'd met Finn first, it was hard not to notice someone so bright. Poe introduced himself a little later–more like, a few hours later, really–and Finn had smiled knowingly. That was all the explanation she needed. 

"So, Finn tells me you're pretty handy with mechanical things, too? Isn't that something?" Poe said eagerly after sipping from a bottle of beer they brought over. 

Before Rey could say anything, Finn jumped in excitedly. "Yeah, you should have seen her, Poe, she was like, greasy and dirty after my car broke down, and after a few minutes, I twisted the key, and the engine revved up again. It was insane!" 

Rey laughed pleasantly. "Finn, you’re too kind."

Finn raised his hands, "Hey, nothing but the truth, right?"

They laughed throughout the night, eating happily together. Poe recounted stories in his work, telling tales of different people he saw every day in different costumes. He worked at a comic book store three blocks down from the small, homely café Finn and Rey worked in. Whenever it was time to go home, Poe was always there out on the sidewalk with two orders of milkshake–strawberry for Finn, and chocolate for Rey. She'd declined at first, not wanting to cause Poe too much trouble, but she was happy to accept it on days that she had her period. It was sweet relief. 

Rey whisked them away from the sink once the meal was over and insisted them not to fuss over the dishes. They were her guests, she stressed, but they waddled around the kitchen awkwardly, trying to lend her any type of help.

They bolted for the living room like the overgrown kids they were at the sight of the TV glowing, and she joined them, sitting beside Poe before being dragged and cuddled in the middle. There was a new fuzzy feeling inside her at the addition of her new friends. It made her feel all warm and cozy inside, enjoying Poe's verbosity and Finn's never ending exuberance. It made her wonder why she hadn't tried to make friends before but then she remembered her priority was trying to re-learn the Mortal realm after being gone for so long and keeping a low profile. This, she didn't tell her new friends, and she left it at that. 

They lapsed into a comfortable silence before she heard a distinct click from the narrow hallway. Her head swiveled to the direction of her bedroom, a black head poking out curiously. Their eyes locked not a moment later. Kylo Ren's eyes landed on Finn and then, very slowly, onto Poe. The two men hadn't noticed the cat in the hall, having been too engrossed in the movie. As the credits rolled out, it was Finn who first noticed Kylo. 

He made this known with a loud scream. 

"Jesus, Finn!" Poe nearly jumped out of his skin, too. And then he saw Kylo, sitting on the floor in front of them, staring them down. "It's just a cat."

Kylo threw a look at Rey who just shrugged unhelpfully. The terrified man stayed rooted behind the sofa. 

"Finn, cut it out," Poe admonished, trying to pull Finn from behind the furniture. Rey took that window of opportunity to peek into their bond. Closed. His end was tightly closed. Like it had never been there. So she couldn't make out anything from the storm reflected in his eyes. Was he angry? No, that can't be. He even told her to  _enjoy_. 

 _What's wrong with you?_  She pushed in the bond. Poe had finally coaxed Finn out from behind the couch, and now Kylo was staring him down from his spot. The poor man eyed him warily. 

He didn't answer. So Rey ignored him and turned to Finn. "I'm so sorry about that. That's my cat. His name's Kylo. I forgot to introduce him to you." 

Poe nodded over to the cat as though he was just some guy on the street. Kylo's lips curled repugnantly but only Rey saw it. 

 _Whatever you're doing, stop it._  She shot through the bond. 

 _I'm not doing anything_ , was his eerily calm response. Rey rolled her eyes and walked towards him to pick him up. He let her, but his gaze never left Finn. 

 _Stop that,_  she warned, trying in vain to distract him by rubbing the back of his head. His focus was undeterred. Why had it worked so well before? 

"See, Finn, he's just a little curious. You're new here. Hey, little kitty," Poe reached out, but Kylo swiped at his outstretched hand with his claws and angrily bared his teeth. 

"Kylo!" Rey warned, holding him tighter. Finn was looking rather pale now. "Sorry," she pinched his side and felt him flinch. Good. Let the damn cat know he's making her lose her only friends.

"He doesn't like being called 'kitty.'" She offered lamely. Poe nodded tensely and turned back to Finn, who was by now relaxing just a little. He was still eyeing Kylo warily, though, but when Rey set him down, the cat had thankfully thrown his head up high and stalked towards the kitchen. 

She didn't bother hide the anger from their bond she'd allowed to boil over and spill on his side of the bond. It'd bleed, she knew, but she didn't care. His tantrum nearly cost her a friend. "Finn, are you okay?"

"Sorry," he looked sheepish, "I'm just not really, uhm, comfortable with cats."

"Sorry we didn't tell you. You didn't say anything about a cat." Poe explained. He wasn't particularly scolding, he was just stating. But it felt like a punch in the gut.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't know." Her eyes were stinging, tears threatening to fall. In that moment, Kylo's end of the bond broke open like a dam. He was uncomfortably tugging at the bond, somehow frantic as he tried to know what was wrong. Rey ignored him. In her distraction, Finn had bolted to her side and quickly, but rather awkwardly, hugged her. 

"No, Rey, it's okay. Don't cry." But she was sobbing, mumbling sorrys. Kylo was in her head, too, wandering like a lost child, trying to find a way to figure out exactly what she was feeling. But she didn't let him. When he stepped through the bond, she locked him out, too angry to care if it made him panic. He certainly wasn't getting out of the kitchen. Poe huddled in with Finn and Rey and hugged them both, stroking his hand on her head. 

"It's okay, Rey. We're sorry we didn't tell you, either."  She let them pet her and hug her for another solid minute, just glad that she was distracted enough to feel Kylo constantly trying to gain entrance in her mind. When the consoling was over, Rey apologized again, but Finn had silenced her with a kiss to her forehead and Poe reassured her at least a hundred times and hugged her to prove it. It was getting late, so they both had to leave. She kept apologizing even at the door but they both gave her a sincere smile and said all was well. Finn even promised to try and get to know her cat better next time, and she sensed his sincerity. 

 

* * *

 

 

"What was that about?!" Rey let out, angrily pointing at the door and looking at him. It was maddening to see him unaffected, licking his paws like she wasn't just seething. But the bond gave her a feeling that's directly contrary. A thick layer of nonchalance was pulsing in the bond, keeping hold of an unreasonable anger lurking beneath, glowing and waiting to be set free. Kylo Ren showed as little of it on the surface as possible, and she felt herself curse him louder in her mind. 

 _"Talk."_ Her footsteps were heavy, her pointed shoes gone, and her hair down, the color in her lips faded from eating. Kylo Ren considered her before getting to his feet and stretching his limbs. He took all the time he needed, made sure to look as unaffected to her as possible, even though the bond leaked of a different kind of rigidity in his muscles.

 _You reek of them_. He snorted, on his haunches, glaring at her. 

"That's not an excuse and you know it. Why don't you tell me, Kylo? Before I kick you out." 

Kylo Ren snorted, throwing a glance to the door. Her end of the bond was unabashedly a churning vortex of anger. He could see the flicker of red beneath, but he stood his ground.  _You won't do that._

"Oh," she laughed, mockingly, "try me. Now,  _talk_."

She planted her hands on the counter, something he barely noticed, because she was glaring back at him, her eyes livid and the bond wild for some sort of explanation. 

The truth was, he was afraid. 

It was there, encased in the nonchalance he tried so hard to exude here. The bond was more open, easier for her to read. He'd regretted having to ever show her peace during her bouts of guilt because now, it seemed he couldn't control his feelings under a guise of nonchalance as well as he had the first time they met. It was infuriating. And now she was furious for some sort of explanation that he doesn't want to admit to himself. 

 _This is my territory._  He almost said 'you,' but managed to stop himself. It didn't satisfy her. 

"It's  _mine_ ," she seethed. He couldn't argue about that. "Why don't you explain that kept anger within you, huh,  _Demon?_  Explain why, of all the times we spent sharing this apartment, you decided to be too comfortable  _now_  and think you can get away with  _hurting_ the few new friends I've made?" She was funneling her anger directly in her words. It would have been intoxicating for Kylo were he not on the receiving end. 

 _You know they won't stay your friends when they learn who you are._ She slammed her fist on the counter hard and glared at him harder. 

“Bullshit!” she groaned.

"That," her voice was changing, "doesn't," the air crackling with her anger, "explain," her knuckles were paling, " _anything_." Her eyes were flickering dangerously from red to hazel brown, and somewhere in the back of his head, he wondered how far he could push her. It would certainly be helpful in a fight. His anger was bleeding through, too, and he seriously contemplated telling her honestly but his prideful nature made it difficult. 

 _It doesn't_. He replied cautiously. She let out a screech and the red finally settled in her eyes. He realized later, it was too late, that the tightening in his windpipe, the difficulty of his swallowing, was coming from her. His eyes filled with panic. She was choking him from where she was. It was a horrifying thought. A Demon, dying in the hands of a lowly Witch. 

"Talk," her voice was pitchy and ethereal in a creepy sort of way, "or  _die_."

He didn't doubt her threat for a second. He knew he wasn't exactly the best house companion. But he stubbornly held his ground, fighting off her energy with his own. The tightness loosened, but only a little. She was strong when she wanted something. He scoffed, it ironically sounded like him. 

 _I'll talk,_  he relented, straining to get the words out. She wasn't believing him. To prove it, he stopped fighting her, and the snap of her hold back around his neck made his eyes water. It took a few seconds then she let him go, but she was still glowering. In the bond, she was waiting to pounce. 

He tried to put as much conviction and determination in his declaration and hoped it worked. The feelings he was bleeding into the bond were a dead-giveaway he knew she couldn't analyze carefully right now to know exactly what it meant. 

 _You are_ my _territory, Rey._

He wasn't sure what to make of the genuine surprise that flashed between her eyes and the full blown confusion in her head. The deep crimson in her eyes even faded to a pale redness. 

_"What?"_

He sighed, thanking, ironically, the Realm Kings for at least giving him fur for this situation. He thought of his words for a moment before completely letting loose. She wanted the truth and she gets it, he'll explain it off later, downplay some aspects and clarify intensities. His golden eyes were filled with steeled resolve. 

_You are mine now, Rey, whether it is to your liking or not. This space is mine, too. When they entered, I sensed a different energy, and when I saw them as two Human males, I grew frustrated. I was here first, Rey, you do not let new people just wrap you in their arms like that. Not without my consent._

He wanted to push himself back deeper into the Underworld at the admission. Rey scoffed, having recovered from the surprise. " _Your_  consent? What are you, my mom?"

 _It is my job to protect you and aid you in training_. 

"I don't  _need_  protection from them, Kylo, they're my  _friends_ ," she pleaded. Kylo felt a vague urge to.. wince. 

Another truth was, he wasn't entirely sure why he had tried to scratch one of the men. It wasn't just the nickname and he knew Rey knew that. It came from an ugly emotion he'd felt after seeing her pressed in between them, an emotion he didn't understand. 

 _I'm... sorry,_  came his reply, still trying to pinpoint the emotion. It felt familiar, but distant, and something he'd usually never felt for a person before, much less a woman. Rey threw her hands up in defeat and marched back to her room, locked the door, and made it clear Kylo was neither getting a head rub or a good night's sleep on her stomach tonight. He sank down onto the counter, still trying to place the funny feeling. 

 

* * *

 

 

He was feeling stupid. 

Even now that he was staring at her door, waiting patiently for it to open, he was feeling utterly stupid. He could open it, it would take only a small amount of energy, but he wasn't sure if it would sit well with her. So he decided to wait. Each minute that passed by made his stomach feel empty, the distinct feeling of vomiting out nothing was gnawing at him. He'd heard her rustle through her sheets more than once and knew that by 7AM, she would be awake. She often slept late, because she'd been meditating more, even well into the night, but she always woke up in the morning at 7AM somehow.

He couldn't let his resolve falter. It was something he'd been debating intensely with himself the night before. If he was going to continue living with her, he knew an apology wasn't going to cut it. He needed to _explain_ because he knew she needed something to hold on to. 

"I know you're out there." She said serenely, and she allowed him a peek through the bond. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, meditating. 

_May I come in?_

Her eyes were closed, he knew, but she was open to the energy around her. And that's where he felt her. 

"You usually just barge in." She said mockingly. 

He hesitated, resisting the knee-jerk urge to scowl.  _Today's different._

"Yeah, how?"

He kneaded his paws over the wooden floor. It would have been the human equivalent of shuffling his feet.  _I want to tell you something._

"Well," she chuckled humorlessly, "isn't that something."

He didn't answer, just waited for the door to open. He was careful to keep his side of the bond sealed, wanting to explain it personally, or, at least, without a door between them and the abrupt bleed of emotions that's constantly betraying his façade. He heard her sigh stridently from the other side. 

"Just get in, Kylo." 

So he did, strolling in as the door automatically unlocked with a gentle push in the energy. He sat on the floor, instead, on his haunches, in front of her. He waited for her to open her eyes and started talking then. 

_I decided to elaborate the.. emotion within my system last night. I figured an apology hadn’t been quite enough._

"No," she admitted, frowning reproachfully, "it wasn’t."

He fidgeted, having nowhere to hide from her scrutiny this time, and keeping the bond from exposing him unnecessarily.  _When you mentioned your friends, it was of no consequence to me._

He was thankful that she was listening and not prodding the bond for added context.  _But when I saw that.. they were two Human males, I couldn't help but think that.. that maybe they were threatening my place._

He didn't dare look at her.  _It seemed they'd quickly gotten your approval in only a short amount of time, but I had to awkwardly try to read you for months despite the advantage the bond should have given me. It was proving difficult, so in my frustration, I lashed out at them. And when they were.._

He swallowed, wondering what type of Demon confessed such muddled judgments to a lowly Witch. He shook his head. She wasn't lowly in _his_ head, no, she'd proven herself more than enough times.  _When they had held you in their arms, huddled closer to you on the couch, where I would sit with you and watch through the big glowing box_ first _, it just made me feel very uneasy. As though they'd claimed you theirs suddenly. Like they'd been here_ first _, like they knew you better than_ I _did._

He risked a look at her, then, too embarrassed to continue without some sort of cue from her face. She was eerily silent, her brows furrowed together, her lips pressed tightly together. Her hands were clenching and unclenching. The bond was thrumming with confusion and something else.. something like, intrigue, interest, and disbelief. The disbelief was like a playful little nymph, dancing all over the bond. It threatened to put a smug look on her face, but she carefully kept that from happening. When she didn't say anything, he continued. 

 _I just felt as though you would forget of my existence. I was hearing that curly-haired man's thoughts. He had already been planning on meeting you here once more. Doing the same routine. The cheerful one was thinking the same thing._  He blinked.  _And to think that they would share that couch with you more often now than I would, it just made me feel so_ angry _._

He didn't expect the small smile on her lips when he looked up bashfully, like a dog with his tail between his legs. Like he had done something wrong. He sighed. He knew he did. The smile was motivated not from the derision that he had expected, it was a little angry still, the furrow was still there in her eyebrows, but the smile was a little more affectionate. Mutely, she stretched her hands out to him and he cherished the warmth that emanated from her hand when she stroked the back of his ear. He stalked closer to her, slotting all four paws between her folded legs. He sunk down quietly, letting his side of the bond open just slightly, and rested his head on her thigh as he curled around himself. 

Her fingers never left the back of his head, stroking softly. She went back to meditating a while later, one hand still on his head. When she spoke again, it was a whisper to the room. 

"You were jealous." 

He didn't know what the word meant either, but if that was the term for what he was feeling, he still wasn’t willing to admit it. 

 

* * *

 

 

 _Get up_.

Rey jolted, eyes flying open, she recognized the voice all too much. It just pissed her off that he had to let it rattle in her head so loudly. Kylo was lying on top of her chest, his paws resting comfortably near her collarbones, liquid-gold eyes focused and shining. She flopped her head back and sighed into the empty room. The sun wasn't even casting a warm glow in the room and it looked to be dawn. Faded moonlight stretched on her floorboards, the streets littered with only a few sounds of tires against the asphalt and car doors opening and closing. She glared at Kylo as hard as she could, struggling to open her eyes wide enough to produce the effect. But he simply sat there and repeated it again.  _You have to get up._

 _"Why?!"_ She groaned, turning to her left to burrow her head further into her blankets. Kylo followed the turn and pushed himself to his haunches, sitting with his chest pressed up against her nose. His hair tickled her nose and when she scratched it with annoyance, Kylo asked in her head,  _Do you have a spell book?_

 _"What?"_ She was pushing him. But he didn't budge, leaning his weight, instead, directly on her hand. 

_Do you have a spell book?_

She groaned again, trying to slide him off the bed this time. He merely draped himself on her whole arm to stop her, his eyes never leaving her face. "I don't have one."

He stared.  _Why?_

"You woke me up at 4AM to ask me if I have a fucking spell book?"

 _Yes_. 

"Ugh," she was ruffling her hair.  _"Why?"_

_Because you need one._

She was blinking slowly but Kylo felt the cogs in her mind turning, trying to process this new information at 4AM. She was still rather grouchy, though, of course she was, Kylo thought. Humans were supposed to be asleep at this time. "Why do I need a spell book?" She asked even though Kylo knew she knew the answer. He just rolled his eyes. 

"Kylo, I'm in the Human world now, I don't need my spell book."

 _You and I both know you're_ going _to need it._

She chewed her bottom lip, reaching over to him to rub at his head, and then she sighed. Rubbing the heel of her palm against her left eye, she asked groggily. "Is it really necessary?" 

 _You're a Witch,_  he replied,  _you need a spell book._ As if it explained everything _._ She wasn't entirely convinced. She yawned again and pulled him up and held him closer, cradling him in her arms. He tried not to squirm too much, focusing on her warm skin instead of the delicate curves of her body. 

_Have you brought your Book of Shadows with you, at least?_

She sighed, hiding her face in his soft belly. “Confiscated. Obviously.” He kept still, glowering at the top of her head.

_I'm getting you one._

She blinked at him in the dark but saw only steely resolve in his eyes. "What are you talking about?" 

He smirked at her, showing rows of sharp pearly whites, and cryptically pressed their foreheads together.  _Have you ever been to the Floating Library?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'mma be honest will all a' yous for a sec. First off, I don't live anywhere near America and have frankly never been there. That's why I apologized beforehand for any sort of geographical mistake. But I chose the continent still because most of the stories here are set in it, too, and since I still want to appease the general demographic, I went for it still. Which is why I'm hoping to see if any of my few readers would like to help me out. I actually have a city picked out for this story, I just don't want to write it in without any sort of consultation from anyone and end up making a fool of myself. To amend this, I have chosen to just honestly reach out for help in the interest of accuracy. Hehe. And if you're wondering why I didn't just use SW planet names to replace real-world city names, I did consider that option but figured it'd be rather confusing since I wanted to at least make the Realms authentic and distinct and naming them "Coruscant" or "Endor" just didn't appeal to me.
> 
> Second, any of y'all know Latin?
> 
> If you really would humor me, (which if you reaaaally do, kriff, you are a gift) you can reach me on tumblr @noshitcharlotte or DM me on twitter which is where I am most of the time @_srslykate.


	5. Decades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only reason I can manage double updates is because I've actually written the bulk of this fanfiction before putting it up here; have figured out most of the deets, too, worked it out as diligently as I could. I've plotted out this Universe ever since March, though I still apologize if some inconsistencies exist. I hope you're all still enjoying the ride though. More to come! 
> 
> Also, no hate on Quinlan Vos. I love him. He gets mentioned in this chapter.

The Floating Library, it seemed, was exactly what its name was; a floating prism in the sky, miles above the forests that surrounded the Witching Academy. Kylo Ren transported them with a hushed string of words Rey vaguely remembered as a transition spell. He cloaked her, too, from the perimeter of the place she was supposed to be banished from. It wasn't at all smooth, she felt like they were constantly being pulled at the limbs, but it was the best Kylo could manage given his limited abilities. Moving between realms was difficult and even an A-grade Witch had problems with it. 

It still stunned her just how composed he can be with his powers, despite the fact that Kylo Ren kept grumbling of its considerable lack. It was like he'd learnt how to pace himself a long time ago. Maybe he had. It made her feel envious. 

The problem was, the Floating Library also happened to be a lofty, stark white prism suspended in the sky, moving in the gale, and made—every part of it, it seemed—entirely out of glass. There were no books, large oak study tables, homey lamps, or green and beige carpeting that smelt like mothballs, no ladders that slid through slim nooks within the shelves and no indication of endless books towering over the space like soundless bodies of knowledge. In fact, there was nothing that resembled a library within the prism. It was just glass, moving suspended in the sky, heavy and rotating languidly in an invisible axis a thousand feet from the ground. Rey looked for Kylo Ren as she landed on the glass and tried not to look down at the crystal beneath her feet. 

There was nothing but glass, damn it! 

She spotted Kylo in her panic, capering about the wide vacant prism without a care in the world. Like they weren't just seconds away from very horrid deaths. The strong surges of wind kept threatening to knock her off her balance, her hair flying out in all directions as the wind intermittently blew everywhere. She cursed herself when she nearly slipped, causing her arms to loosen at the blanket she'd brought along. It slipped from her fingers and got pushed out of the prism. She made her anger known through the bond. Kylo was lazily laying on the transparent glass floor, looking, for all the world, like his calmest since he'd come home with her, his tail was even dancing slowly behind him. 

 _Kylo_ , she was screaming through the bond though she knew he could hear her just fine.  _Where is.. that damn library?_

He made a face she recognized too well, and broadcasted his impatience and annoyance through the bond.  _The library reveals itself only to those who truly seek its knowledge._ He replied. As if that explained everything. As if that was enough to make her understand. As if it made her  _see_  where the library was, if there _was_ one. 

"You could have told me that sooner!" Another squall of wind forced her loose shoelaces to untangle. She’d shoved her feet in them hastily when Kylo announced they were teleporting. She’d been too sleepy to be able to concentrate. She stumbled on the glass, her face pressed up against the transparent floor. Panic rose in her throat and banged in her head, everywhere in her head screamed danger. Kylo was ignoring her fear. His voice vibrated warmly inside her head just as she was about to shout.  _Rey, relax._

 _Where is it?_ She was sobbing against the glass now, still pressed against it with both eyes screwed shut. She was crying now, Kylo Ren noticed with alarm, and tried to help her see what he saw. He sought entrance to her mind but he didn't know if she let him or if she'd been too afraid to spend her energy putting up barriers. He found her signature eventually, pulling it closer to his and imparting a wave of calm to her. He bit his lip. This was going to make the bond harder to avoid but he tried not to think about it. 

 _Rey_ , he called in her mind. She wasn't moving, only sobbing, a shriveling piece of flesh too terrified on the prism floor.  _Rey?_ He tried again.  _Rey, please look up, please. I'll help you find the library._

Wave after wave of different emotions hit him all at once at his suggestion and she stubbornly didn't budge. Forcefully, he lifted her head with his power, straining from where he was lying down in the prism. The wind howled around her but his voice was clear and calm in her head, like a placid caress.  _Repeat after me, Rey_ , the voice urged. 

She cracked an eye open and fought the fear already seeping into the bond. His eyes were glowing with concentration and the way his black front legs stretched in front of him made him look like he was reaching out to her with his body too. 

 _I seek knowledge_ , he began. 

She trembled but tried to follow his advice. "I- I seek kno—"

 _You have to_ mean _it._

Rey swallowed and tried to focus on Kylo's mental hold on her. The warmth was slowly chasing her fear away. She spoke a little more clearly afterwards. 

"I seek knowledge."

_From the great Prism in the sky,_

"From the great Prism in the sky,"

_Show me the light,_

"Show me the light,"

_The words that I shall live by,_

"The words that I shall live by,"

_And let me walk within these halls,_

"And let me walk within these halls,"

_And see them in my mind's eye._

"And see them in my mind's eye."

The howling wind was still the only sound that registered in her mind, an insistent clamor in this part of the atmosphere. Out of the corner of her eye, color unfurled on the transparent Prism, a deep brown, followed by a deep blue, and a deep green, the kind that's almost the color of a pool table but not quite. Then it kept unfolding in gold wisps blanketing the glass. She sat up and watched in amazement as the color molded together and formed chairs, both wooden ones and winged-back ones littered around the room. She whipped her head to the other sides of the Prism and noticed bookshelves growing from the bottom up, revealing layers upon layers of books, old, and new, the feel of a carpet beneath her palms barely registered to her as she watched stairs span the sides of the Prism, leading into landings that went the length of the wide side at the bottom of the triangular building and narrowed down upwards. The Floating Library finally made itself known. 

It was divided into four levels, each level colored by maroon lamps, casting small red patches on the deep blue shag carpeting. Carved and filled with gold at the thick slabs on top of each long shelf that spanned each level were separated, thick, gold letters gilded with onyx outlines. _Historia_ , shone the first level; _Alchemia,_ indicated the second; _Governance_ , on the third level; and _Majika_ beckoned at the summit, near a transparent little piece of triangle on top. Lighter lamps cast off-white or dull yellowish tones against gloomy little tables that sat like rowed alcoves, tops kept immaculately clean. When she'd finished gaping at the sight—in the process, she hadn't noticed the wind had gone, and they were now cozy in a triangular shaped library with books of every size and volume stuffed in shelves or sitting atop each other on the floor—her eyes fell on Kylo Ren who was sitting on his haunches pleasantly, staring at her with what she imagined was the ghost of a smile on his lips. And then it was gone. 

Kylo turned, meandering towards the center of the library and directing his gaze upwards. His enthusiasm was palpable through the bond and Rey permitted herself a smile, even a demon was humbled by the sight of knowledge, it seemed. 

 _Welcome to the Floating Library_ , Kylo said.

She followed his perch on a nearby oak table just off center and sat on a lavish wooden chair, cushions upholstered in black leather with armrests carved in with little cherubs pressed against each other. She still couldn't help but look around, really, it was an impulse. A window off to the side of the first level told her they were still pretty much floating like a disembodied establishment, held up only by a fantastic mystical force. It took her a long minute to feel the small nudge in the bond and another full minute to be able to take her eyes away from the window. Kylo had moved closer to her, his front paws brushing against her arm, which was bent on the table. His eyes were shining with something like candid joy, and, though she didn't quite understand, an image quietly appeared in her mind.

She was eye level with a small boy. His skin was pale with moles lightly scattered on his face, some more prominent than others, and what was visible of the long cartilage of his ears peeking beneath a thick head of raven locks. His lips were full, plump and trembling a little from crying, she thought, tracing the wet trail with her eyes up to his watery deep brown eyes. 

The boy, it seemed, was crying, but from what, she didn't know. The place around her was foggy, like it had been painted and then blurred out with water. Like it was forcefully brought to the surface after such a time that it was buried. Another figure came into view; a short figure of a woman with a delicate braid on the top of her head. She was smiling apologetically, catching the boy when he ran to her waiting arms. His body shivered and shook as he let his tears stain the woman's elegant dress. She looked both regal and maternal at the same time, toeing the line between motherly and stern. But it all worked out just the same. She crouched a little later, cradling the boy's small face in her hands, and then pressed their foreheads together. Something skipped in Rey's heart at the sight. It was almost like—

 _When I was younger,_  Kylo's voice carried itself in the memory, gentle and soothing, so very unlike his tendency for monotony. This memory gave a slight color to his voice, a tiny little flutter in the relative stillness of his signature.  _My mother used to take me here._

She wondered idly how he looked human from the memory. And how he seemed to have a human parent. The image warped and then abruptly, it was of the library again. It still had the white-washed quality to it, telling her the images correlated with each other. She spotted the little boy running around. Laughter, from the child and the short woman, filled the air around her and she watched with fascination as the boy flipped through one book after another, each time his smile growing brighter. 

 _It was the first time I've been to such a place_. His disembodied voice hobbled over the edge of an inscrutable tenderness.

And then the image changed again, the boy clung tightly to his mother's chest, sobbing at the familiar empty, howling crystalline Prism in the sky. Fear was like a thick cloud in this particular memory, but then it ebbed away to make room for warmth and affection. 

 _It was during the days I would find myself alone in the house, searching for my father. My mother tried everything. Her last resort was this place._ A small and abrupt breath passed his lips but she understood it for what it was. He chuckled. _I was terrified then, like you are now, of the oddity of this architectural marvel._

She caught a glimpse of the woman again, in her elegant robes and delicate braids and piercing, but strangely warm, brown eyes. Those that mirrored the young boy's. And then the image was gone, receding back into his mind and the world around her coming back into focus; the Floating Library bringing back the familiar scent of old paper. 

He didn't look at her when she glanced his way, blinking. She wasn't sure what to make of his honesty. Maybe it was the place, or maybe it was just a decision he thought would've been proper given the situation, to somehow get her settled and comfortable with the place.

“Why show it to me?” She asked.

The tenderness was back, coupled with something like a dubious attempt at nonchalance. _I had to somehow placate you. Especially after the ridiculous way in which you pressed your face against the glass floor._

Her response was an indignant huff. “You weren’t particularly forthcoming with your methods of coming here.”

A shuffle shook their slowly escalating argument and a man made himself seen from _Alchemia_ , hidden from a wide slab of shelving. 

"I see the Floating Library has attracted guests," he said heartily upon reaching the last two steps of the stairs, his voice a carrying a lilting scratch from old age. "Welcome, welcome," he greeted, taking the seat behind the oak desk and plopping a stack of books beside his desk lamp. 

"Thank you," Rey offered a timidly. The man looked at Kylo for a second, and then recognition flashed behind his eyes and a small smile, sad and speaking of something heavy, stretched on his lips. 

"Ben," the man said. Rey's ears perked up at the sound of a different name. Kylo Ren didn't twitch where he was, but his tail stiffened ever so slightly at the name. The bond had gone quiet too, like he was curling in on himself mentally. Her mind made a connection between the boy in the memory and the new name, but she refused to acknowledge it unless Kylo confirmed or denied it.

 _We need a book,_ came his short reply. The man nodded sagely and stood on his feet again, eyeing Rey a little longer than what was comfortable before lumbering to the side of the room and touching a bookshelf.  

"He cursed you." The man had directed the statement to Kylo again and she felt, more than saw, how he bristled at the mention of it. Rey looked curiously between them, but said nothing. 

 _It's of no concern to you._ He paused.  _We just need a spell book. Basic._

The man nodded but said nothing, taking the steps to the second level lightly and thoughtfully, as though he processed something at each step. Kylo Ren's eyes followed the old man in silence until he came up to the fourth level, the slimmest, most crammed level of the Prism, where the books were older and the pages more tattered. Rey tried this time to very gently seek an explanation through the bond, but Kylo blocked her out effortlessly so she could only feel him pulsing and not be able to touch his signature. 

The old man read and touched the spines of some of the books around him, thick and with brittle pages. Rey waited on her plush chair, still reeling from the exchange between the man and Kylo. The itch to get some sort of answer about the exchange was there, small, but there, all the same. She knew Kylo could feel it, but even if he did, he didn't say anything. She was thankful for that. She tried a different tactic, then, and asked him instead about the librarian's name. 

 _Savant Tekka._ He replied without looking at her. 

"Basic?" The man, Savant Tekka, asked from the fourth level, they can see him clearly from the first level. There were no floors that thoroughly isolated each section, it was just an open space in the middle, framed by thin walkways springing from beneath the shelves. 

 _Basic. But with introductions to a little dark magic._  This time, he looked at her seriously, as though he was trying to make her understand something. She didn't understand what that was, of course, most of the things he tried to communicate with her through his eyes burned with a kind of intensity that she was still not entirely adept at reading. He still intimidated her. Kylo knew of this insecurity, too. Maybe that was why he wanted to get her a spell book, she thought, to give her something that she could hold on to bolster her self-confidence. A smile formed on her lips at the thought of it, but Kylo had already looked away, focusing on Savant Tekka's descent from the stairs. 

He placed a book, thick, and with pages that looked like they were forcibly bound together, on the desk. It created a little halo of dust when Savant Tekka flipped the cover open, reading the inscription aloud. 

"Witchcraft Basic, by Quinlan Vos. 'Young Witch, craft and train in the magicks that surround you and share its knowledge to your fellow Witches. Fight; use these words and let balance prevail. I trust you will heed my words.'" 

Kylo Ren frowned at the inscription and, even without looking, Rey knew he was talking to her.  _Quinlan Vos was a Witch of indeterminate origin._

"What does that mean?"

_He was a traditional Witch with quite of a wild side. He was part of the Old Witching Order and had been a spy for both the Demons and the Witches._

Then he turned his attention back to Savant Tekka, who was watching the seemingly one-sided communication between them. Rey's cheeks flushed. 

_You gave her Quinlan Vos' spell book?_

"Yes."

_Why?_

"You said she needed an introduction to dark magic. Quinlan Vos mixes dark magic with basic spells."

_I required a basic spell book. Not something Vos has twisted into something else._

"It fits your requirement."

 _It's_ twisted _._

"Of course. You would know, aren't you some sort of expert in it?"

Suddenly, it felt like someone flicked a switch within Kylo. It took her a minute to process what was happening, the slight dip of Kylo's shoulders, the dig of his claws on the wooden desk. His head was low, too, and his unnatural gold eyes were narrowed at Savant Tekka. Kylo Ren was growling, the sound a low, menacing grumble in his throat. For a split second, Rey thought he was going to swipe his claws at him like he did with Poe. But he seemed hesitant, a little afraid even, and she couldn't tell if it was the name Savant Tekka called him or the memory in her head just minutes ago.  _Maybe both_ , her brain whispered at her.

She waited as Kylo slowly,  _very slowly_ , let his shoulders lose. The hostile cloud behind his eyes receded, but he was still pretty much mentally baring his teeth at the old man. 

 _Thank you,_ he said, it came out rough and strained. 

Savant Tekka didn't say anything when Kylo took to the center of the library with Rey at his heel. She offered a weak, confused smile to Savant Tekka and a small wave, but the old man did nothing more than give her a curt nod. She sank down on her knees as Kylo pressed his forehead against her like he did that morning, and she disappeared with him, clutching her spell book tightly against her chest. 

 

* * *

 

 

The transition was done slovenly, Kylo Ren was trying so hard to focus, but the ride had been extraordinarily jumpy this time around. Each time, Rey clutched the spell book tighter in her arms, feeling like a dagger of pain passed by her body. Still, she endured it. She was going to have to ask him about the encounter some other time and he knew this, but she knew she wasn't going to make him talk as soon as they reached the Human Realm. And somehow, she felt, this was another–albeit smaller–source of his anger. 

She hadn't been wrong. 

They fell hard on Rey's wooden floors, limbs heavy and mind disoriented. Kylo Ren was practically vibrating with anger now, the hold he had on earlier coming lose at the edges. He ran out of her line of sight when she cracked an eye open, bounded on her windowsill, and disappeared into the night. 

 

* * *

 

 

Rey opened the spell book at the center of her living room, making sure to keep the windows open in case Kylo Ren came back. The book, like Kylo had mentioned, radiated a different magical signature, like it was teetering between familiar and dubious. More than half the spells were new to her, too, its origins unclear except for the small inscriptions that provided her more questions than answers. She tried to use one, a simple suspension spell, to keep a lantern up in the air a little a ways from the top of her head. It worked efficiently at the sound of her incantation, the magic flicking around her insistently, a warm fizzle of energy. It sent the lantern floating shakily in the air, but it settled quickly and smoothly on the spot she had assigned it to. It emitted a kind of gnarly magical signature, bordering on the unfamiliar. She tried suspending other things in the air, too, and they emanated the same type of strange energy. 

Kylo came bounding up the windowsill just as she was floating the suspended objects back down. She flipped a page and read another spell before fully turning her head towards him. He didn't have to look at her to know that his presence had been noticed, the bond seemed to draw out a sigh of relief once he was within range of her. She didn't say anything as he stalked towards where she was cross-legged on the floor, and she didn't say anything when he stretched his limbs out and plopped half his body atop the open book. 

So it was he who started the conversation.  _Have you been reading it?_ His tail was languidly moving from side to side. Rey allowed herself a smile. At least the tension he had earlier withdrew a little.

"Yes," her eyes landed on the lantern on the floor, just suspended minutes ago. "I've tried his suspension spells, too. Nothing too heavy. Just that lantern, and some socks and, oh, that little pen over there that I still haven't gotten around to picking up. Sorry." 

She wasn't exactly sure why she was apologizing. Kylo had been living in her space for at least three months now, she knew he didn't mind the filth. Only when it was in his general sleeping/perching spots did his cat face split into a scowl or a look of general disdain. It was just her half-assed attempt to lift his mood a little.

To her relief, he commented only on the spell. _You felt it, didn't you?_

"The dark energy, yes. It's a little weird. Some sort of static in the air that kind of weighed on my shoulders. But it's nothing I can't handle."

He scoffed–or at least that's what it looked like when his head reared back slightly and then fell back forward.  _You merely suspended things in mid-air, which takes little to no energy at all. When you use the darker ones, it'll tax you unlike any other. And the dark magnetic energy will linger within you for days._

"Oh," she contemplated. "How do you get it off?"

 _You don't_ , the sigh wasn't made audible, but it was there.  _You can only try to balance it. Find something that will counteract it._

Kylo stretched, Rey watched the pull of his limbs upwards and the inward curve of his spine. "Like a Yin Yang thing?" She asked. 

Kylo stopped at the new syllables and blinked at her.  _Perhaps. If you would be so inclined to call it such._

She nodded slowly, understanding. The next spell was a knowledge absorption spell, the page babbled on about retaining knowledge faster and easier and remembering it for a longer amount of time. The knowledge spell made her mind drift back to the Floating Library again. It was such a novel experience, something outrageous and mundane at the same time, once you’ve past through the fear of a sudden death. The books had fascinated her, the scent of the library, the cozy appearance of it all, it all had taken her breath away. Savant Tekka, too, seemed to possess so much knowledge. He spoke rarely, it seemed, even more rarely once the duality of Kylo Ren's identity became another topic. It had distracted her from the wonder of the library, and she had to admit, even until now, it was what was rattling around in her mind. 

_If you're going to keep thinking that in your mind then why don't you just ask it._

Rey retreated back on herself like a turtle. Kylo had that bored look again, the kind that told her that this line of conversation was going to be on his terms. But this time, she saw something lingering there; a type of assurance that guaranteed that if she asked, he would always say the truth. She still wouldn't push her luck, though, Kylo was just beginning to warm up to her a little. The flash of his memory in the library surrounding her, still fresh in her senses. 

She worried her bottom lip for a while and contemplated her words. "Were you.. Someone else before you were.." she gestured lamely in his general direction, "this?"

He sighed, not just through the bond, it seemed. The visible sag of his shoulders and the way he looked away made her wince. "Sorry," she mumbled hurriedly. 

It took him quite a while.  _Yes_.

She blinked, half in disbelief, half in wonder. "Really?"

He sighed again, frustration coming back. That was more familiar to her, that identity.  _Yes, really._

"What happened?"

_I was known as Ben before. And now I go by Kylo Ren. What happened is not something I'll be sharing with you._

She tried not to show how that stung. She gathered all the determination within her and pushed this line of questioning, still trying–and most likely failing, but she didn't want to think about it too much. "Will you be.. sharing it some other time?"

Rey didn't expect him to look so utterly lost in the span of a second after the question left her lips. She suddenly regretted her insistence. 

_Perhaps. If it relieves your curiosity._

She wondered idly if 'relieving' her 'curiosity' would cut it. Kylo took one furtive glance at her to know that was not the case. He decided to change the subject. 

_We're going to have to be careful with this spell book. These are things I wouldn't want you to be learning so soon._

"I'm eventually going to have to face someone really fierce anyway. Might as well start now."

He frowned, thinking if maybe she knew of the attacks that were happening lately all around her. 

"Are you worried about what this'll turn me into?" She asked, holding a piece of sepia-hued paper between her fingers and giving it a wiggle. 

 _No_ , he answered honestly.  _But you shouldn't be introduced to a deeper kind of magic like this. It doesn't fit the Witching Academy's curriculum._

"You sound like my Witching history professor." The quirk of her eyebrow made Ben's lips curve downwards. 

_I might as well be, seeing as your Witch education seems especially lacking. Conventional Witching techniques are devoid in your use of power._

The laugh that escaped her was short, bark-like, but Kylo found himself smirking, the memory of their first encounter creeping into both their sides of the bond at the same time. 

"I wouldn't call myself conventional." She said. It occurred to him then if he should inform her of the lurking dangers about her, dangers he still didn't quite understand himself. 

Kylo watched her reaction carefully after uttering his next question.  _Do you have an idea why that man on the roof was so keen on attacking you?_

She looked thoughtful after a minute, processing his question. It had been floating about in his mind for the months that they've stayed together. The man was a vessel, he could easily tell, but Rey had been intoxicated that time, wallowing in a sea of pain, self-hatred, and disappointment getting kicked out of the Academy still brought. Her senses were less sharp though she'd easily defended herself.  _Why did you think he went after you?_

"I'm not really sure." She paused. "I think he was trying to get something from me..? I don't remember everything. All I seem to know for sure, though, was that he wasn't trying to get in my pants. He'd looked drunk, too, like really,  _really_  drunk—"

 _A side effect of the poison Demons might have used to imbue their will upon him,_  he thought privately. 

"—but other than that, he seemed to be more focused on  _getting_  me than  _doing_  me." She was laughing. He tried not to grind his molars together at the casual nonchalance of it. 

A small pit of dread formed in his stomach. What if the instances were related? He threw a surreptitious glance at the windowsill in the living room. What do they want from her? 

"Kylo," her voice was like a soft caress, like a mother's, drawing his attention back to her. "Why'd you ask?" 

He decided to give a half truth.  _The spell book,_  he began,  _that's why I got you one. You may be in the relative safety of the Human world, but that doesn't guarantee a safe life. That one incident is proof enough._

Rey knew this, of course she did. The Human world could only be protected for so long and there were other ways to infiltrate it that neither the Witching Council nor the Demon Vanguards would detect. The contract, after all, was all but a piece of paper. Important, yes, powerful, yes, sealed and agreed on by two very powerful races, yes, but imperfect. Witch pirates, wayward gypsies and the occasional low-level phantoms roamed the streets of the Human world like it were their own, prowling in the alleys, looking for or causing trouble. She can never be too comfortable. Though the Human world gave her stability, and a slim chance at a normal life, she couldn't deny that when Kylo said this truth about the situation, all she could do was sigh. 

"Then," she beamed, instead. "I think we have a lot to work on, Master."

The way she said it had been tender and just a little bit mocking, but Kylo Ren felt an odd thrill to it all. She'd opened the bond. She'd listened to him in that library without passing judgment. She held him close, too close for comfort sometimes, but it had always done wonders for him. Something he would  _never_  admit to her. Or,  _yet_ , he wasn't sure. He felt accepted, validated, understood in Rey's arms. But each time he tried to just cherish it—the warmth, the sensation, the pleasant tingle of, was that happiness?—he found himself blocked by none other than himself, a solid wall of black in his ever raging mind. 

Rey said nothing and offered instead a smile. A smile that spoke to him about submission, willingness, but not the kind that made her weak, no, the kind that made  _him_. 

He shook his head once her attention went back to the old pages of Quinlan Vos' spell book, the Demon cat forgotten where he was staring at her, and thought of how strange his life had now become. He sighed just as he'd reached the bean bag in her room. He wished she'd reached over the book and touched him. 

 

* * *

 

"You are not supposed to show such a grandiose level of incompetence," he said, deceptively calm amidst the rumbling around him. His anger was like a thick, black cloak around him, and the servant behind him shifted uncomfortably at his feet. 

"I didn't know she was with him," the officer said lamely, stuttering as he went. When he looked up, a pair of deep blue eyes, the color of the sky at midnight, connected with him and suddenly, he was pressed on the ground on his chest, gravity holding him tightly against the floor. The figure before him paled, faded into a blinding white, horns jutting out of his head and extending to his thick biceps, red and angry. 

"I didn't ask for  _that_ ," he spoke angrily, and with the force of a thousand voices, picking up the helpless lowlife, and roaring in his face. "I wanted you to take the girl back, but now, there  _is_  no girl!" 

"I'm sorry!" His small body was quivering. Of course it was. He'd been sent on so many missions to retrieve her, and each time, he came up empty. The girl couldn't keep living. She would interfere with his plans. And now that _Kylo Ren_ was apparently with her, he was dangerously  _livid_. Really, it was like a sick joke, he thought, as he stared at this useless excuse of a servant. He didn't even remember his name anymore. He didn't care for it. He had just been another vessel. So he slowly tightened his grip around his small body. His weak form gave easily, mortal that he was, _that's what you get for selling your soul to me_ , his intense stare said. He tightened it more, and more, and more as the crack-crack-crack of his bones registered in his head, and then his blood was dripping beneath his fist and oozing down the sides of his fingers, staining the white.

Nothing can stand in his way. No one. Not even Kylo Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I revisited some of the notes I had for this story when the idea was just beginning to form. Earlier plot elements, entire plans on how chapters were going to go. Even endings. And boy, I can safely say this became a gigantic detour since the actual writing-the-story thing began. Eitherway, this was still tons of fun to make, and, yes, I still do love kitty cuddles with touch-starved Kylo who still doesn't want to admit it. Idiot.
> 
> The level labels in the Floating Library was inspired by the four wings of the Jedi Archives, and the Floating Library itself was inspired by (from the Clone Wars) the Mortis Monolith, a gateway to the planet Moris, located in Wild Space and the Louvre Pyramid. :)


	6. Beings

Everything was tense.  

Rey was working now, and that was good, but it was also infuriatingly agonizing on his part especially since she was so blissfully unaware of the gravity of the  _entire_  situation. She skipped merrily around the house to prepare for the day, so content at her job, with her  _friends_ –those he'd made clear to her he still didn't quite like–and the pace of their spell casting training. He'd started her off easy, opting instead for incantations he knew off the top of his head. They were far safer than the spell book now taking up space beneath the coffee table in the living room. The hexes and spells that needed ingredients would need to come later, he wasn't especially adept with them. They’d need to grow herbs for that. He knew quite a few, but, when you're a powerful Demon who could wield powers beyond reason, there wasn't much need for hexes or herbs. 

She left him sitting on the counter and he made a show of nonchalance, lapping at his milk soundlessly. She leaned in and rubbed his ear before she left and then closed the door. 

Kylo Ren knew he was exaggerating the threats around her. They didn't come in the mornings yet, like he'd suspected, low-level Demons and Phantoms can't hide themselves very well. Those that do manage do succeed, however, were either vessels or those that have hidden themselves from Humans, but not from the protectors of the Realms. Still, his hackles raised and his claws dug into the sofa cushions in the morning every time Rey stumbled out of her room woozily and announced a stupid daily mantra like, "Today's the day!" Or, "I can do this!" As if saying these things were talismans that would ward off evil spirits. 

In those moments, Kylo Ren heavily debated telling her all the strange occurrences her mantras could never even dream of fixing. It was also a very often occurrence for his guard on his mind to loosen every time he was overcame with worry for her safety, to which she'd looked at him strangely and give the bond a nudge, an assurance that she was, in fact, still pretty much there, munching cereal on the dining table in her Mickey Mouse pajamas. Rey sensed his worry all the time, but he gave her imprecise answers every time she asked,  _Why? What's wrong, Kylo?_

It wasn't like he didn't take any measures himself. Every night, he'd cast a protection spell on her, something strong, like a shield, that would keep her destiny from winding a path that would lead to unnecessary incidents. It worked every time, of course, he was good at many things. He'd also tried to shroud her senses one time, just so she can't detect any of the spirits milling around her each time she went home from work at 5pm. He mentally berated himself for being so ironic. He couldn't really fault her entirely for her ignorance; he'd been closely monitoring that she discover nothing out of the ordinary so she could live a relatively normal life. At least until he figured out why it was that this was happening to her specifically. 

Kylo Ren sighed at this issue once more. When he'd found out about her stealing, he figured out exactly why she had done it and why—at least, not until he suggested otherwise—she kept doing it. Rey, with her parents long dead from a tragic car accident, Witchcraft training Academy dropout turned coffee shop employee, wanted, deep within her heart, to just be able to live normally. He realized this with equal parts of dread, and melancholy. He knew, as much as she did, that for people,  _beings_ , like them, normal was never an option. But he couldn't stop himself. She made everything bright and optimistic. 

She touched everything with a lightness that was never lacking, did things with practiced ease, and though she may fail and curse and throw a snarky remark at him at random during dinner, she was a beam of sunshine. She was Light. She made even Kylo Ren's dark, brooding nature  _loosen up_ like she called it. And every time he wondered if this was the power she had. And then right after he wondered that, he wondered how he kept ending up putting Rey in his mind, front and center, and wracking his brain for ways to keep her safe.  _Keep her safe,_  his mind always echoed back at him. He could pass it off as being a responsible henchman slash master, all the time. It wasn't such a big deal. It wasn't. Not really. 

 

* * *

 

"Morning, Sunshine!" Finn greeted, waving at her from behind the counter. A small line was already forming in front of him, the influx of more people starting their day bringing her in the rhythm of things. She greeted him back briefly, before he turned to a customer in front of him to take her order. 

She donned an apron around her waist and clipped her hair in place, pinning the strands out of her face as she started to mix and create all manner of coffee items and pastries for the hungry patrons of the cafe. Finn worked efficiently with her and one other co-worker, Mel, offering a smile each time they would bump around each other slightly. She remembered the day she'd been interviewed for this job not so long ago. Finn had been very gracious and kind to her during her interview. She'd admitted to not having prior experience to the profession, but she'd convinced him she was a fast learner and that she was very eager. That's because she was.

Finn decided to take her in and train her for at least a month, to which she had been very thankful, if not, at the same time, guilty, for lying to him with her birth certificate. But she always bore it down. This was safer for Finn. He was Human, a being unaware of most of the horrible things that had nothing to do with storms or hurricanes or any Human crises. She was just doing this for his safety, and, selfishly, her own. 

Nevertheless, it was pleasant to have a friend like Finn. He always seemed to ooze with delight. She didn't even have to do much of anything to be on his good side. Within the two months he'd trained her, they'd shared things and talked and she found herself fond of the jovial man. That was why she'd invited him over her house with his boyfriend that night.

She sighed softly at the memory but not out of anger or annoyance over Kylo. She'd seemed to be very close to him recently. At least, as close as she dared go. He was still pretty much closed off, but she felt him taking small conscious steps to connect with her, both personally, and mentally, and it had been incredibly comforting.  

She smiled absently for a moment, shook her head and turned her focus on work. The morning crowd soon dissipated and then came lunch. Rey sequestered herself to the staff room to munch on a sandwich she'd made for herself at home.

"Sunshine," Finn called as he entered the staff room, spotting her on a table near the water dispenser. 

"Hey, Finn," she greeted back as he sank down in front of her. 

"I was thinking, maybe Poe and I could do a take two? You know, come over? It's Poe's birthday next week and he was hoping if it would be fine to celebrate with you and your cat." He chuckled to himself and took a bite of his own sandwich. Rey's mind drifted back to her brooding, dark Demon-turned-Cat and wondered if they really could 'get along.' 

"Are you sure?" She asked pointedly. 

Finn chuckled awkwardly. "I was just scared of cats. I don't think it's a phobia thing, though. They're just weirdly scary to me, is all. Poe just exaggerated it a little. I think it comes with being someone’s boyfriend."

This time, Rey chuckled. "I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. He  _always_  exaggerates."

"I know right," he snickered, but it was fond. The one she often had on now every time Kylo Ren pops up in her head. She shook her head. He was a cat, for goodness sakes. His only other form was a Demon who she'd made eat her. There was no reason for her to be particularly _fond_ of him. 

"I think I'm going to have to clean up, of course, and, I guess I have to train my cat not to kill either of you."

"You do that, Sunshine." He jabbed his finger in her direction good-naturedly. Rey took a large bite from her sandwich, munching happily. 

"We wouldn't want him burning with rage the next time we try to be friends with him– hey, Sunshine, you okay?" He reached out and patted her back when she choked on her water. The image of Kylo Ren's Demon form flitted back into her mind and suddenly, she decided she'd give Kylo a particularly stern warning once she got home from work. He wouldn't like it, of course. She could tell he still wasn't warming up to the idea of her friends, and wasn't going to, anytime soon. He'd repeated this over and over again when she tried to coax him into liking them. He always turned her down and walked out on her despite being in the middle of their spell casting activities. She had to wait at least five minutes whenever it happened. 

"Yeah," she croaked, "yeah, I'm fine."

Finn let out another chuckle, but this time, it sounded like he was consciously lightening up the mood. "Guess he weirds you out, too, huh?"

Rey blinked. Her feelings for Kylo Ren were.. strange. When she looked up, Finn's expectant face told her he was waiting for a response. So she gave him one. "Yeah. He's really weird." 

 

* * *

 

 

Finn got out of work before she did, mumbling something about being late to a date with his curly-haired boyfriend. He'd apologized to her profusely when he told her about it, feeling sorry he wouldn't be able to walk her to her car out back like they usually did together. But she shooed him away happily and encouraged him to keep pumping his legs until he was out of the coffee and sprinting down the street. She got out only a minute after he did, packed her things, and got ready to go home. She said good bye to her other co-workers, those that worked until after midnight, since the coffee shop was in the business district, and pushed the front door open. 

She decided not to go out back, opting, instead, for the front door so she could observe some of the customers outside, enjoying their cup of coffee in the middle of autumn. She spotted a trembling figure on one of the tables, a girl, she could tell from her equally shaking ponytail. Her clothes were rumpled and her head was bent low, her nose merely inches from a cup of coffee. When she neared her quietly, she noticed that she was crying. The girl barely registered her presence, so Rey moved closer as quietly as she could and when she looked up, the smile Rey gave her made her blink back at her. 

Remembering herself, the girl frantically rubbed at the tears in her eyes and tucked the cup of coffee closer to her chest. She didn't drink any of it, she noted, it seemed more like she'd smelt it the whole time. Rey's interest piqued but her sympathy got a hold of her first and before she knew it, she sank down on the chair across her. The girl watched her from beneath her clumpy lashes and made a face. 

"What, are you going to shoo me away, too?" There was a bite in the way she said it, like it happened often. Rey shook her head but remained silent. The girl drew a long sigh and touched the rim of the now-cold cup of coffee in her hand. This close, Rey could detect the raging turmoil within the lady; the pain, the loneliness, the misery, and a wizened old man in flannel and a pair of khaki shorts. She drew back immediately from her mind and regarded her carefully. She waited patiently until she spoke again. 

"This was his favorite place to be," she was whispering more to the cup but she heard it anyway. She could feel the unusual desire the girl had within her to open up to her. But the girl didn’t do much to stop herself so Rey kept listening.

She let out a huff and a smile that wasn't quite cheerful. "And this was his favorite coffee. Black. I didn't like it, but he'd always tried to get me to drink it."

Bitter laughter. "I tried, you know," her eyes lifted to meet hers after a while, and then they went back to the deep brown swirl of the liquid in the mug. "I drank a cup during his funeral and realized he was right. It was bitter, but it made you feel. It told you it was coffee and not those fancy sweet ones that were more milk than anything else."

She looked at her again and Rey desperately felt like holding her trembling fingers in hers. "I guess I just wasn't ready to feel real, yet."

The girl then tried to straighten up weakly, her shoulders loosening up a tad bit slower than the rest of her body. She must have been curving in on herself ever since his death, Rey thought, it looked like a lot of effort for her to move. When she finally managed to sit up, her attention shifted beyond the glass of the coffee shop and landed on the different pastries inside. Another smile, this time, somehow more miserable than the first, came to her lips. "He loved that chocolate croissant, too. He said it matched the toughness of the black coffee and put his body in a state of 'equilibrium'," she chuckled, making air-quotes. "I always laughed when he said that. It just sounded so ridiculous." 

And then she was sobbing again. "Mom used to work here, you know. It's why he loved the croissants so much. She'd made them for us at home, too, and we would even fight for the last piece." 

Rey had a very distinct idea where this was going but only when the girl's startled facial expression registered to her did she realize that a stray tear had wormed its way out her left eye and that both eyes were now blurry with liquid. 

"You, too, huh?" The girl whispered gently, sadness was rolling out of her like waves and she knew she was feeling the same way. Rey nodded brusquely, perhaps too brusquely that it caused the water in her eyes to roll down her cheeks. Now both of them were crying. 

"I wish it never happened, you know." The girl offered and Rey could only nod again. "Maybe I wouldn't be in so much pain." 

Rey managed to croak out a response to that, "It's not like we could've done something about it." 

The girl's shoulders shook pathetically. "I would have." 

And Rey did, too, but it really was out of her control. She just hoped she wouldn't have to die the way her parents did or, that if she had learnt about her magic sooner, maybe she could have even saved them from their fate. The girl looked at her carefully and then Rey realized they were staring into each other's sad eyes. 

"My name's Jessika," the girl opted in saying. Rey gave her a small smile and glanced–finally–around her, at the sky, brightness now mellowing down to a calming indigo, the brown of the few autumn leaves making it more picturesque. 

"Mine's Rey. And," she slipped a few bills to her from her wallet. Jessika's eyes filled with surprise. "Treat yourself to a chocolate croissant. Your old man's right." 

 

* * *

 

 

He paced around the darkness of the lair impatiently, running his claws so hard against the blood-drenched marble that it screeched under him. The sound made the lesser demons around him grab their heads in frustration, but he kept at it, no one could tell him what to do. The half-demon he'd made a deal with was scheduled to meet him with new information and since all his other recon missions to the human realm have failed miserably, he was vibrating with energy at the first real amount of information from the girl. He vaguely remembered the exchange in his mind, too occupied with the idea of finally having something against that blasted _girl_. 

He didn't have to wait too long, as it turned out. Because she started striding in the lair with her head held high, acting like she owned the place, shock of white hair cascading down from the top of her head in stilted locks down to her hips. Her eyes were dangerous, and dark, framed by a matching pair of long, inky black lashes; her long black robe and cowl nearly blending with the warm mahogany of her skin. Her mouth was the same color as the clothes wrapped around her, but her teeth were shockingly white, fangs peeking out when she smiled smugly up at him as though she wasn't looking into the eyes of a powerful demon. 

It amused him. 

"Bazine," he said in a way of greeting. 

"Hux," she replied. The way she'd spat his name at him should have made him snap but it didn't. 

"You know why I'm here." She said again. Hux huffed, bright and fiery in his original form. 

"Let's hear it, then." He replied all too eagerly. With a flick of his fingers, the lesser demons receded in the dark, too afraid to question the superior. He crouched down from his hulking size, exuding as much power as he could, but Bazine remained still and unafraid. 

"The girl has a soft spot for family." 

Hux grunted, slamming a hand down angrily. Bazine didn't even flinch. "I  _know_  that."

"We could use it against her," she replied instead, staring him down quietly. 

"What do you suggest?" His voice was gruff and hurried with anticipation. Maybe if he could just get to the Realm, he would just get it all over with and proceed with his plan. He would put matters in his own hands, like he always did, and it would all be over. 

"Her mind is also very nubile. Her mental defenses are lowered when she's overcome with emotion. The Demon you spoke of was not with her at all times, but I could feel his power cocooning her. It seems to me he hasn't been successful in trying to get her to learn to protect herself as much as he wanted. So he did it for her." This, Hux could use, he thought to himself. 

"It is relatively easy to get her to crack under emotion, as it is, she becomes filled with the most emotion when there is any talk about her familial relations. Or the lack thereof."

He still wasn't getting an answer. "What do you  _suggest?"_ He growled. Bazine all but scoffed at this rudeness and Hux's anger spiked in the air around her. Bazine lifted a brow at him. 

"You dare mock me?" 

"Careful. You need me more than I need you." 

What little was left of Hux's amusement gave way to searing rage. He slammed his other fist on the dark marble and dropped his head forward to stare her down. She was small, but she stood with a confidence that made her seem like she was standing at his same height. 

"Is that so?" 

"Unlike your incompetent underlings, I've come back with information. Information you could use. And not only have I acquired valuable intel, I also propose a solution for the problem. And that is more than your underlings have accomplished. Vanquish me now and you'll be starting off at square one." She smirked. 

He roared mightily and threw his head back. The space around them trembled, even the marble floor shook. Bazine lost her footing for only a split second, and then she was standing on her feet again, nonchalance continuing even after Hux had finished roaring. 

"This had better be worth my attention." He roared again. The darkness seemed to be moaning in fear around him. Only Bazine was standing undeterred. 

"I promise you," she grinned, fangs shining like pearls despite the darkness cocooning everything about her.  

 

* * *

 

 

He shouldn't be dealing with this. 

An energy ray shot over his head, nearly grazing his fur. He cursed aloud, hissing out his frustration, and jumped on top of the fridge. 

He should be preparing himself for tonight. 

"Why don't you stop playing around, Kylo, and fight me!" She shrieked, laughing hysterically at the center of the living room. Her dark eyes were shining with a twisted kind of mirth. She spotted him crouched on top of the fridge and opened fire him. 

He cursed again, ducking at another energy bolt that drilled a hole behind him in the plaster. She was damaging Rey's property, tearing out Rey's sheets, shattering Rey's mirrors, breaking Rey's plates, everything, and it was making him  _angry_. She was destroying  _their_  living space. Rage overcame his senses, his eyes flashing dangerously. She was going to  _pay_. 

He kept his side of the bond closed, though it was weighing down on him. Rey couldn't find out. Not yet. He'd die trying to protect her before she could find out. 

He bounded down on the kitchen counter and deflected an energy bolt aimed at his head. It flew back at Bazine with stunning accuracy, but she dissipated it as soon as it nearly fizzled her shoulder. She laughed again, floating over Rey's floors, fangs shining as her dark lips pulled back to a sneer. Her white locks were already frizzy with rubble. 

Rey will not know any of this. He was going to fix this before she came back and she was going to have a fun night with her friends, and he was going to sit on her lap the whole night and ensure none of the men try to touch her too excessively. That was the  _plan_. But now, he was fighting off a half-demon, keeping the bond closed, and struggling to protect himself all at once. It was in these moments that he cursed his form profusely. Rey gave a jolt when his surprise sparked within the bond. That was the exact moment Bazine had come striding past her door that morning like she resided within the space. Instantly, she came prodding in his mind. Her warmth was a welcome feeling in the outskirts of his mind, but he kept it there, careful not to touch it. Rey  _can't_  find out. 

He hastily squeezed his side of the bond closed and sent her a reassuring tug, hoping it would be enough to quash her building worry and not head home at the perceived threat. He hoped it worked. Oh, how he dearly hoped. She couldn't find out yet. It would put her in danger. He needed to do this for her, he needed to know she would be safe. So he pulled at his power and focused on all three things at once with all he had.

He cast a darkening spell around the room and teleported behind her. He pooled all of his energy in his hind legs, and with all the force within his body, he landed a drop kick behind her head. Bazine came down with a yelp, but braced herself on the floor just in time. The light came back, Kylo teleported behind the counter, where he was obscured from her. Her hysterical laughter rang in his ears again and he grit his teeth. It was like listening to a thousand bells all at once but with the rhythm off. 

"That's more like it, Kylo. Just like old times!" The shrill tone of her voice made his ears sting. He suddenly wished he was in his true form. 

He then cast a petrification spell, bounding up swiftly and staring her in the eye. Out of focus and still shaking from the sting of her voice, he'd only managed to turn her legs into stone. She let out another ear-piercing cackle. 

 _Shut up!_  He groaned, teleporting and swiping at her face before she noticed him. His claws met her skin harshly, the sharp ends digging into her skin with ease. Her blood dripped on the floorboards, red and fizzling with energy, as three parallel gashes marred her face, and still she laughed. He teleported before she could grab him, but she channeled all her energy to catch him mid-travel, until she was clutching his small cat body. He spun around and released an angry hiss, aiming his claws for her throat this time. 

Bazine's neck gave, and blood spurted out at his face. That took out some of the shrillness in her voice as she doubled over once the petrification spell wore off, an open wound to her throat sputtering blood on the floorboards. Rey was thankfully quiet beyond the bond. Kylo was thankful for that. She knew when to leave him alone. He just hoped he wouldn't have to explain everything to her once she got home. He still had to get her apartment fixed. He vanished in thin air before she could grab him again. He levitated every sharp thing he knew was tucked in the kitchen and aimed for the edges of her clothes. 

He pinned her against the wall with the knives, straining to focus despite the distracting sound of her voice. She kept cackling crazily, and it was driving him insane. 

Bazine's head reared back as she dislodged the knives from the wall. She sprinted after him, weakened from his attacks, but still quick enough. "You won't get away, Kylo. He's after your little pet!" 

 _He?_ Kylo teleported behind her legs and threw his shoulder at her lower leg. She came down with a crash, hitting her head on the sharp edge of the coffee table. It left a nasty wound on the side of her head, open like a bloodied, budding flower, the scent of raw flesh now thick in the air. He moved the knives from their position on the floor and aimed for her head, but she noticed the move and waved a hand in the air just in time for the knife to fall in her waiting palm. 

 _Leave her out of this!_ Kylo growled, dodging Bazine's aimless, crazed stabs. Each time she was met with nothing but air, but she kept laughing and grinning, her throat spilling blood everywhere. Kylo sent Rey's microwave hurtling in her direction and it hit her back with a loud crack, bringing her down to her knees. 

Next he wrestled the knife out of her grip with his powers and ran it along her lower arm, leaving an angry, deep gash there, splitting her vein open as more blood gurgled out.

She grinned, wobbling on her feet as she struggled to stand up. "Oh, Kylo, this is all  _about her._ " 

 _You won't get her, Bazine. She's_ mine _._

Bazine found that amusing, too, so she made it known while shakily trying to drain his energy. He sensed it just in time to deflect it back to her. "How sweet," she cooed, spitting blood on the floor and shaking on her knees. It was daylight, Kylo knew, and Bazine was having a hard time concentrating with the sun constantly grazing her brown skin. But if she came back at night.. No. No.  _No_. Not tonight.

"But she won't _stay_ yours, Kylo. She's pretty famous in the underworld, you know." She punctuated with a laughter that seemed louder than before. 

_What do you want from her?!_

"Oh," she laughed again, twisting her palm to pull him from across the room. He landed in her grip and he squirmed violently against her hold. But Bazine wasn't letting go. " _From_? No, we want _her_. Your little desert flower will be ours for the taking. You see, she's the only thing between us and world domination. Didn't you want that, too, Kylo? Once upon a time?" At this, she ran a bloody fingertip over the top of his nose to his bloodied head. He snapped his teeth angrily when her fingers came close enough but she pulled back just in time. 

Her grip on his neck tightened. "Or have you forgotten where your loyalties stand?"

 _She_ , he ground out, focusing his energy on her fingers. He pictured her fingers around his neck as he wheezed and strained.  _Is_. Bazine was watching him with amusement. His eyes were closed in concentration.  _Mine!_ He roared with demonic fury finally, it nearly took all he had. But it made her falter, and he snapped her fingers at the opening. Bazine screamed in pain and hissed at him loudly, cradling her broken fingers. 

 _She is_ mine _, Bazine. And no one from the Underworld is allowed to touch her._

She didn't try to dodge the knife he'd sent her way. It sank easily in her chest and pushed out of her back, landing in a bloodied heap, causing another violent spurt of red, fizzling blood that seared Rey's floorboards, now strewn with debris and rubble. She laughed one last time, to Kylo's horror, and looked him in the eye. "We'll get her, Kylo. One day, she'll be gone and you won't ever find her again."

He hadn't noticed the exact moment she'd cast a darkening spell. The surprise distracted him more than anything, and when the lights came flooding back before him, she was gone. 

 

* * *

 

 

It had been hard to clean up after all the destruction of the morning. Kylo needed at least two hours for every room in his weakened state, and there were at least four rooms. He would have been miserable, stuck with the task of trying to put her apartment back together. That was her job. He just sat whenever she cleaned. Or helped her with moving things. Or floated a glass of water when sweat started to bead on her brows. But he could care less about that now. He wanted to do this for her, too. 

Distantly, he thought that maybe, this was all happening because of him. Maybe Snoke was punishing him for bonding with a kicked out Witch. Maybe he was upset that Kylo wasn't using his full potential in the hands of a relatively untrained Witch. And maybe that was why they were trying to get rid of Rey, through Bazine. Kylo Ren frowned. That might be possible. But Bazine wasn't exactly part of the underworld hierarchy. He would know, of course, he was one half of a dyad directly under Snoke's command. 

Bazine prowled the streets of the Human world, hid in the shadows, and preyed on the weak in the mantle of midnight. She was a lesser demon. Snoke would never even try to get near her. Her fowl half-demon stench would surely drive him away. 

So who sent her? Who was  _he_  that she spoke of? His attention came back to the apartment around him when he noticed that Bazine's acidic blood had carved shallow bean-shaped holes in Rey's floorboards. He growled. He was going to have to cast a spell on Rey so she wouldn't see it. There was no way he would be able to fix that. The couch's torn seams connected with ease and Kylo Ren pushed the stuffing back inside with his paws. He stalked towards the coffee table and released a gust of wind on top of it, sending the rubble to the floor. The spell book was unharmed, thankfully. Bazine must have been trying to focus so hard on attacking him that she barely took notice. He righted a table beside the sofa, and turned his attention to the TV. It was tucked inside its wooden case, leaning only a little over the edge. He nudged it with his power and thanked the Nethers that it had not a single scratch. 

It was the plaster in the kitchen that he frowned about. There were three of four holes above the sink and the counter, and one particularly nasty one on top of the fridge. He sat on his haunches on a stool and concentrated on the broken walls. The layers slowly began to attach themselves together, Kylo tried to make it as seamless as he could, but a small line always marred the surface. He groaned. He  _really_  was going to have to cast a spell on Rey later. He got her bedroom the tidiest. He had to, that was where they'd spent nights together, sleeping or meditating. 

He levitated the knives back in the knife block, arranged the few food items in the fridge, chucked the little bowls and spoons back in the sink where Rey forgot to wash them this morning, and swept the rubble out of the kitchen. He swept all the rubble away and threw it out the window. He fixed the shattered windows and mirrors, too, those that broke when Bazine laughed hysterically, and opened the shower to fill Rey's tub with water and reluctantly jumped in so he could blast the blood in his fur clean. It was a terrifying experience now that he was a cat. He hissed occasionally when the water hit him, but he moved his head and used his paw to get every last drop of blood out of his fur. The acid didn't burn him. He might be a cat now, but he was still higher in ranking than Bazine. Her blood didn't affect him. 

He even went so far as to squeeze a dollop of shampoo on his head—her shampoo, lavender, a scent he always loved on her hair when they slept—but not too much. If Rey found out he was bathing, she would make him do it often and he didn't want that. He was fine with grooming himself. He rinsed the shampoo thoroughly within his fur, using his energy to just vibrate the strands together so he wouldn't need to use his paws. Finally, the silkiness of his fur came back and some of the scent just evaporated, and he jumped out of the tub, drained the water, and turned the shower off. 

He bounded out of the windowsill afterwards. He still had at least three hours before Rey came back with her friends in tow and he was going to make sure that Bazine doesn't come back tonight. Without looking, he cast a strong enough protection spell around her apartment, and a seamless spell so that when Rey and her Mortal friends entered, the imperfections in his renovation will be hidden from them. That would do for now. He jumped down the fire escape stairs and loosened his shoulders. 

 

* * *

 

 

When Kylo Ren came back, he found Rey lying on her couch. The spell had worked, he could feel her coated with it. But something else threw him off. She was incredibly still on that couch. The bond was silent. Too silent. He ran in her direction and skipped up to her side. No. No.  _No_. He shouldn't have left. Her lips were pale, her limbs were limp at her sides, her hair was askew, her fingers were cold, her chest wasn't moving, and her side of bond was cold to the touch. No. No.  _No_. Not Rey. No. He nuzzled at her neck helplessly and purred pathetically against her skin, rubbing his wet nose on nothing but pale and cold skin.  _No_. He couldn't heal her. Not at this rate of decay and without his full power. It was frustrating. The panic in his throat tasted bitter, and it rendered his lithe limbs immobile. Not Rey. Not _his_ Rey. 

He tried biting her shoulder lightly, grazing his sharp teeth to try and elicit a jolt from her, a revival in her energy signature. Nothing. He dug his claws a little on her arm. He knew she didn't like it, but each time he did, he looked up to nothing but Rey's peaceful pale face, eyelids closed, mouth closed, the bond closed. No. This wasn't happening. Surely he could do something. He was caught up in a haze of his own sorrow, he didn't even notice the tears, those that were running down his furred cheeks now. He didn't care that it made him feel weak, or that it shook his frame. He nestled against her chest and rubbed the side of his head against her chest.  _Wake up, Rey._ He whimpered through a deafeningly silent bond. His voice echoed back at him in the emptiness, an emptiness that held her before, warm and welcoming.  _Wake up, please. I need you._

She can't die now. He'd only just succeeded protecting her. Now she was limp and lifeless beneath his paws. No,  _Rey_ , he called,  _Rey, answer me please._

But he was met with nothing but silence. He whispered her name like a prayer, nuzzling closer against her. In the emptiness, he put his full focus, and there, in the distance, was the whisper of her voice, the promise of her light. He followed it, eager to hope, eager to be touched by her again. 

 _Kylo_ , it was her voice, she was breathing it out. She was breathing. He followed it quickly, bounding on his paws. But each time, dread sliced him open. Just a little longer. He vowed to reach her. And then there it was again, pulsing small, beckoning him further.  _Kylo?_ Her lips were coming into view, and so was her hair, down her shoulders, wavy and windswept, the way it looked like when they first met on the rooftop. And then there was darkness again. But it was warm, and close by, and he sank into it, purring. 

"Kylo?" Her voice was clear now. Oh, how he'd miss that voice. He nudged at the bond again and a surge of comforting heat surrounded his senses. She was  _alive_. She was back. The worry in her voice made him flinch, then he lifted his head up and finally opened his eyes. 

 _Rey._  He whimpered. She gave him a smile of relief and pressed her forehead against his. She whispered his name against his mouth, and he loved that, too. He loved that she held him close like this. But what happened? Wasn't she just lifeless not so long ago? She let his face go reluctantly, but she kept cradling him close, caged in her soft arms. The room came into view again, the mist leaving his mind and that was when he realized. 

"Kylo, it's just a dream. Everything's okay now," her voice was still a whisper. Kylo turned his head towards her and rubbed his cheek frantically against her chin, running his wet nose across her jaw, to her ear, unsatisfied of her presence. Until he heard her giggle, and it was a wonderful sound. So he did it again, and rubbed his head against her chest, showering her with affection even through the bond. She accepted it silently, and patiently let him move about her. Rey. Rey. She's alright. She's  _here_.

She pulled him back slightly, allowing him to look at her warm brown eyes comfortably. It seemed to keep drawing him in. "Kylo, whatever your mind conjured up isn't true. You hear? You're safe now. It's okay." She pulled him close to her chest again and he sank in the feel of it. 

Another minute passed by and Rey's fingers ran soothing paths down his spine. He still rubbed his head against her chest occasionally and Rey would plant kisses on top of his head. The nightmare was receding and then there was nothing but Rey. 

 _Rey, I'll keep you safe_. He promised. A small pulse of uncertainty bloomed in the bond, it came from her, but he kept uttering his promise. _I won't let anything bad happen to you. I'll keep you safe._

She relented to the confusion, thinking that it was better to set aside her questions until he calmed down. She kept cradling him in her arms, lightly bouncing on her heels to soothe his fears away. She'd come home at 6pm that night with him trembling on the couch, his little cat limbs tensing. And then she felt his side of the bond break open, _pain_ , pain unlike any she'd felt from him, drenched her senses. She picked him up quickly at that, he was whispering her name through the bond and she'd been trying to bring him back to her ever since. When he opened his eyes, relief swam in their bond—both his and hers, and all she could do was bask in the warmth of his affection. It was intoxicating. 

Nothing was out of place in her apartment, but she felt a deep-seated fear within him that made her tense up. She'd ask for it later. But now, they were both content in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this one. My life happened. Lmao. It's just now starting apparently ???  
> This one is shorter than anything I've put up so far. I think. I guess it's because chapter seven is such a mammoth of a chapter. Anyways, I'm shit at fight scenes, hope this is good enough and pushes the plot forward. 
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and general love! More to come! :)


	7. Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of a story title change. What do you think?

Once Kylo Ren was pacified, it had been difficult to disentangle herself from him. Even as she padded to the bathroom, he followed, his mind reverberating with more worry than she'd ever felt from him. But he sat outside the bathroom door patiently when she'd asked him, his mind still constantly checking with her. In the end, she decided to talk to him from inside the bathroom as she cleaned herself, telling him about the calm of her mundane day. She told him of Jessika. Though he’d been appalled at the prospect of a new house guest, he soon sighed out the tension in his system little by little. He responded to her, too, eager and feeling like he hadn't seen her for days on end. She laughed at that, and unintentionally broadcasted it through the bond. She felt his annoyance instantly at her reaction, but she knew him well enough now to know that it was more out of embarrassment than irritation. She gave him a gentle nudge through the bond and he sank down to her mental touch quicker than he ever had. 

This was.. new to her. The dynamic had changed suddenly. She wasn't used to his affection, or his care, or his worry. She was used to a relatively closed off Kylo Ren, she was used to his nonchalance, his insensitivity, his stern reprimands and his bored responses. Not this. But this new level of warmth from him, the insistent caress of his voice in her head; it wasn't entirely unwelcome. A silence blanketed them after she'd stopped talking, listening instead to the back and forth of his thoughts. She felt a little dark hole there, a memory carefully hidden from her, carved and secluded to a little corner, obscured from her view. It bothered her when he refused to show her anything, but she let him keep his secrets. His promises to keep her safe were sincere, and though she could perfectly handle herself, she knew he was just speaking from his worry. So she let him. 

She let his thoughts lull her peacefully as her eyes drifted closed. Finn and Poe will come by at 8:30pm, she still had ample time to relax. And Kylo was creating a very conducive environment to relax in, and she wasn't going to make a pass on it. Pulling her legs close against her chest, she rested her chin on her knees and let her thoughts mingle with his. 

 

* * *

 

 

Unsurprisingly, he skipped silently beside her after she got dressed. This time, he didn't comment on her wardrobe choices. She'd dressed more for comfort this time, donning a loose white tee and some sweats. He looked around occasionally, but each time she asked what was bothering him, he brushed her off gently and shifted the topic—though grudgingly—to her friends and their plans for tonight. So she showed him three tubs of a white, cold substance. He curiously sniffed at it when she took off the lid, but she shooed him when his wet nose dipped too close and laughed at the stark white of the creamy substance against his obsidian fur. 

He drenched her in warmth again, when she'd laughed, like he'd terribly missed the sound. She touched her forefinger against his nose to wipe off the substance and he offered his thanks by nudging her palm and letting it slide against his neck. 

"Did you miss me that much?" The startled jolt in the bond told her he was embarrassed. 

 _I did_ , he conceded, to her surprise. 

"Really?"

 _Yes_ , he rumbled in her head as she lifted him up close to her chest again.  _Yes, really._

His eyes flew back to the fridge, where she'd stored the tubs back.  _What are those white things for?_

She folded her limbs in front of her once on the couch and set him there on her lap, he instantly snuggled closer to her stomach, enjoying the calming warmth of her presence. After a while, she responded. "It's for a celebration." 

Kylo's mind drifted back to Rey's friends.  _What's the celebration?_

She flipped through channels as she stroked his head, idly humming to herself. "It's Poe's birthday." 

He remembered the name and associated it with Rey's curly-haired friend. He barely remembered it, he'd been filled with.. his eyes drifted back to Rey when her soft laughter filled his ears. He'd been filled with jealousy. He thought if this time he could comfortably stay in the same room as them. After the events of the morning, he wasn't sure if he could let her leave his line of sight, or let any of the two men crowd her too much. He broadcasted this desire through the bond. She picked up on it with ease, but while she'd immediately expressed distaste for it, he was startled when she lifted him up and blew a raspberry on his furry belly. 

The shock of it made his muscles tense. He'd never noticed how soft her lips were, or how silky her hair was despite all the times she'd put it up. Rey playfully set him down back on her lap and giggled. "I'll carry you around through the night if you want, Kylo. Just don't scare my friends away this time, okay?"

He vaguely recalled agreeing to her proposition, the feel of her so close filling his senses. She gently lifted him up and set him on the floor as she attended to the door. He followed her quickly and settled beside her left leg, brushing his fur against her. She stepped over him with ease as she let the two men inside. Kylo nearly jumped out of his skin when Finn swooped in to hug Rey. He hissed instantly, but Rey gave him a look before Finn noticed. He strolled in gleefully, bringing a warm, flat box he recognized. He sat carefully still beside her leg as the man started to talk, the curly-haired one following suit.

"Poe wanted to visit sooner, but I told him it had to be on his birthday, Rey. Your apartment is bigger than ours. It only makes sense that we spend it here." He declared elatedly, setting the flat boxes on the table. Kylo bounded up carefully, casting a calm gaze over to the man. He jerked in his place and took a few steps back, but Kylo simply ignored it and sat on the warm flat box. Rey's hands instantly reached out to Finn's to calm him, Kylo glowered when she wasn't looking, and tried not to project his enmity so loudly. 

Before he took notice of it, another set of fingers found its way to his neck, thick and blunt, but warm all the same. He turned around to see the curly-haired man–Poe–smiling down at him. He squinted at him. The man who called him  _kitty_. He let his head go after a while to amble closer to the cheerful one–Finn–and then glanced back at him. 

"Hey, sorry about callin' you kitty. We good, tiger?" Poe offered. His nose twitched at this Human's inclination for nicknames but sent him a less than hostile glare as a form of agreement. He couldn't help it. Rey released a sigh of relief through the bond and he simply just  _had_  to agree. Besides, a tiger was a big powerful cat, wasn't it? He could live with that. 

He still sensed fear from Finn, but Rey told him during her time in the bathroom that Finn was terrified from cats. That Poe had a dog and he just wasn't used to a cat. He’d snorted. 

"He doesn't seem so bad," Finn said nervously. Poe turned to him and gave him a light slap on the chest. 

"That's the spirit, Finn. Now, Rey," he turned his focus to her, "You said you had ice cream?" 

Rey laughed and scooped Kylo back in her arms again. He stayed silent as she opened the fridge door. "Shouldn't we be singing you a happy birthday first?" 

She handed a tub to Finn, who lifted the lid eagerly, and fished out a spoon from the bag he had set on the table. He scooped up some of the white substance and put it in his mouth. "It's Poe's personal belief that food comes before everything."

Poe pointed at her good-naturedly. "What, you got a better principle?" Rey tossed him a tub and he caught it one-handedly. Kylo snorted.  _Show off_. He pushed through the bond. Rey responded by wriggling her fingers in his belly. He tried not to squirm at her touch. He still couldn't understand the new feeling she brought out of him. He spent his time thinking about what it might be that was causing this feeling instead of involuntarily baring his teeth at every movement from Finn or Poe.

"Tiger's really quiet this time," Poe noted, nodding at Kylo. Rey hugged him tighter. 

"He's being really nice to me, today. And he even agreed not to kill you, didn't you, boy?" Rey said. He cringed at the moniker but smirked privately when the two men couldn't see.  _That could be arranged._

But she ignored him and set him down the table. He watched in silence as they continued talking. 

Poe started talking first. "Mom came over today, you know, while Finn and I were doing our laundry. She took one look at Finn and winked at me." 

Finn flushed despite trying to hide it, and Poe continued. "She met my dad at a bar. They had a drinking contest. But my mom, she's no delicate flower. She beat him and left him there. But when she came back, he was waiting for a rematch and a shot at asking her out. I always promised myself I'd meet the love of my life the same way she did." 

"What happened?" Rey inquired, and this time, it was Poe who flushed. 

Finn was quick to provide an answer, "I beat him. He was out cold just as I was getting tipsy. It was hilarious. Though I didn't leave him. I called a taxi for him and snitched his wallet to find his address. And I put him to bed."

"He didn't leave!" Poe teased. "How could you leave such a fine specimen? And it was _me_ who put _you_ to bed. Since you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself, I thought I’d make use of them!" He guffawed even while Finn slapped the back of his head. Rey heard Kylo Ren snort in her head again. She silenced his mind with a rub to his neck and rolled her eyes at Poe. Really, they'd told her the wonderful tale of their love story so many times that she could mouth the story along with them like they were the lyrics to her favorite song. But every time she tried to show boredom to tease them for it, a smile fought its way past her. 

"He got jealous, too, a lot, and that's when I knew, Rey, that he has a thing for me." Poe announced confidently, Finn lightly punched his shoulder. Kylo froze unknowingly to Rey. Was that what jealousy implied? 

"Who the hell won't get jealous when this man's sexy behind is being surrounded by attractive women in costumes?" Finn argued, crossing his arms playfully. 

"Yeah, but we weren't a thing yet, babe. So I wasn't yours."

"You are now, and you can go on as many comic conventions you want but you ain't touching any girls." Finn said finally. Kylo wandered closer to Rey and sank down on her lap. The two men didn't mind it too much. 

"Cut him some slack, Finn." Rey urged, finishing up what was left of her ice cream. 

"You know this isn't what healthy people eat, don’t you?" Poe chided playfully, finishing his own tub. 

Rey snorted. "Who said I was healthy?"

“Mh, you know what they say, princess. Health is wealth,” said Poe.

Finn released a bark-like chuckle. "She might as well be. Rey's fucking shredded, Poe," he said, turning to him. "She's got an 8-pack." 

The feel of Rey's stomach pressed against Kylo's spine and he couldn't agree more. Rey shook her head. Poe turned to Finn. "Hey, you're taken, remember? By _El Matador_ here? No flirting with the princess." 

"I'm no princess." She insisted. Kylo's warm voice slid inside her mind stealthily and she shivered at the feel of it.  _No you’re not_. 

"Sure you are. But you're like Merida. You don't need a man to validate yourself." Finn laughed, reaching for the Pizza box. "Poe, on the other hand." 

"Hey, don't drag me into this. You're the one who keeps asking me why I chose you." Poe returned, fishing a slice of pizza even as Finn tried to swat his hand away. 

"For your information, it's you who keeps trying to make me jealous just for the fun of it. Pizza?" He turned to Rey. She gleefully took a slice then and Kylo smelt it from under the table and snatched it with his claws. 

"Hey!" She yelped. Finn and Poe turned to her instantly and saw Kylo biting at the slice. She relaxed into a smile and playfully swatted his head. "Crazy cat."

"If I may be so bold," Poe inquired, as Rey was taking another slice for herself. "Which I am," he smirked. "How'd you come across tiger?"

Kylo looked up at her then, listening intently to what she might say. She admitted the truth of their first meeting but sidestepped a few inconvenient details—dead man, the stabbing, the time stopping, the Witch Academy. 

"Well, I met him on a rooftop, actually. I was just taking a breather." She laughed as her mind trudged down the familiar path of the memory. Kylo jolted at the experience, mind still not ready for another flashback of blood and vessels, but kept his slight frustration under tight reins. "And there was this guy who kept pursuing me. I wasn't interested. Kylo was there, just staring at me. And then when the man stopped pursuing–" 

 _You mean, stopped breathing._ Kylo chuckled. Rey pinched the scruff on his neck. 

"–Kylo looked at me and instantly I knew that I just had to keep him." Sarcasm dripped off her words but he took a hint of something a little different. It was pulsing, too, that feeling he was also somehow nursing inside him. But it didn't seem like she understood it either. She surely brushed it away so easily. 

She was just talking about the bond, of course, it was the only way she could describe it. 

Finn and Poe nodded in understanding and then started talking about how their dog was a stray, too, an energetic, lovable, little Jack Russell terrier that had more energy in his body than a firecracker. Most of the conversation blurred and mixed altogether. All Kylo could seem to focus on was that small pulsing feeling.  

 

* * *

 

 

"Your nephew is with her, you know." The small, slight woman commented, the unwavering quality of her voice drawing Luke away from deep thought. He knew this. He'd sensed the exact time his nephew broke out of the Demon realm, he felt the connection that crackled within him and the girl he had just been teaching months ago, after she was banished for being reckless. He thought about his nephew absently, remembering his temper but nevertheless, finding the pair of them oddly complimentary. 

"I know," he admitted. High Principal Maz turned. 

"Why do you think that was so?" She asked, seating herself on a winged-back chair, nursing a cup of coffee. 

Luke had given that some thought, too, but he wasn't sure why it would matter. Fate, perhaps? The Realm Kings had a funny way of interfering with things. They held the reputation for mischief proudly, manifesting it in the way they moved things in the Realms, like people were nothing more than chess pieces. 

"I don't know, Maz." He sighed. "But from what I could feel, my nephew seems to actually like Rey."

Maz lifted a curious brow and took a sip from her coffee. Her eyes stayed locked with Luke’s. "He's  _teaching_  her." 

Luke blinked, shocked at this new information. He didn't know. When he remained silent, Maz continued. "Don't you think it means something that I banished her to the Human Realm and, all of a sudden, a wayward little Demon losing his temper, bonds with her a year after her banishment? Isn't it a little... beneficial?" 

Luke lifted a bushy eyebrow at that. "Beneficial?" 

"You know as much as I do that nothing happens within the Realms by chance. That's a Human belief. Here, we believe that things happen, because they were predestined to happen. And that no matter how we hope to change it," she twirled a finger in the air above the coffee cup, the liquid followed the motion of her hand like she'd stirred it with a spoon. "We could never do so."

Luke nodded. "What does that have to do with anything, though? Are you saying their fates were made to meet?"

"I'm saying," she set the coffee down and leaned forward on her elbows. "That there are no coincidences in this world."

 

* * *

 

 

He was pretty sure this was some kind of human poison. 

She'd reeked of it the first time they met, the scent clung to her skin when he'd stared her down at her steering wheel, and she'd emptied herself twice after consuming it–in the evening before she passed out and he had to begrudgingly play the part of her nursemaid, and in the morning after, when she made those groans and tears sprung behind her eyes. She was gleefully chugging a bottle of it down now, too. Finn and Poe brought it over in lieu of a human celebration ritual, he thought, and watched with fascination as Rey gave voice to the thoughts that ran through her head. 

She started talking a lot, all of a sudden, and laughing, but it wasn't the kind of laugh that she released when he'd said something that oddly amused her. Neither was it the kind of laughter she gave when a particular Human said something from the glowing box that tickled her brain. This was different. It sounded a bit crazed, and a little too slurred and a little too breathless. Poe laughed, too, much to his disdain, but Finn was the only who didn't quite find the need to follow them. Kylo's gaze dropped on him curiously. 

The man wasn't too comfortable with him, yet, he knew this when they'd moved the festivities in front of the TV, and he had to sit beside Rey. Finn had been trembling as he sank down beside Rey, who held Kylo Ren carefully over to his lap. He'd stiffened instantly, and only relaxed when Rey took him back and the strange looking bottles were passed around. 

Rey and Poe were extremely obnoxious and noisy once they've had a certain amount of the drink. (He'd sniffed it to investigate if it had any seductive fragrances and instantly regretted it.) They kept talking like there was a massive disconnect between what they wanted to say and what they didn't. Finn laughed all throughout the events. How could he not? The man, Poe, kept kissing him, and, to Kylo's horror, Rey, too. He kept pressing his lips to her face, against her temple, in her hair, staunchly avoiding her lips should Finn express his displeasure. But it boiled the blood coursing through Kylo's veins all the same. 

It was as though Poe couldn't quite help himself, like the drink was somehow making him forget where he was or what he was supposed to be doing. Kylo pushed inside his mind with ease, too, he was a Human so it was easy. The drink was making his mind more open and transparent, albeit hazy and clouded. To his credit, Finn kept pulling Poe away from Rey whenever he was close to leaning on her face again. He did his part to keep Poe away from her, too, nudging the energies around him with his power only slightly so Finn wouldn't notice. 

Rey, despite the state she was in, could still form a coherent thought, though a little slower than she normally did. Poe was a little slow, too, in his responses, and his words seemed to stumble all over themselves often. At one point, good byes were extended and hands were shook, bodies were pressed together, and Poe's gigantic smooch on Rey's cheeks signaled the end of the festivities. The two men showed themselves out and cleaned Rey's living room before heading home. That, at least, he was thankful for, though it was only Rey's lethargic caresses on his body that kept him from snapping Poe's head open out of his inclination to be an overprotective panther around Rey. 

After a good two minutes frowning at the mess of her living room, he allowed himself a peek at Rey, whose lids were hooded. The waft from the windowsill made her loose brown curls sway slightly, and the way the moonlight reflected within her irises made it hard for him to look away. She still stank of the drink, a vague hint of sweat and lavender. He wondered if she'd smelt it on him, too, while she was consoling him. The memory of Rey's arms coated his body with a heat that was more welcome than he wanted it to be. Gently, he let his golden eyes roam down her arms, in the moonlit gleam, it looked almost pale. His eyes rested on Rey's slender neck when she inhaled softly and leant her head on the backrest. He watched, transfixed, as the column of her throat dipped and shifted. There was a mad urge to hold her and feel her skin beneath Human fingers. He quickly shook it away. 

He couldn't have that Human poison coursing in his veins too, could he? He did lick Rey's fingers once or twice to taste the residue of the pizza. Thinking about pizza made him think about Rey's fingers, too, and how they moved across the expanse of his fur more now and how it didn't infuriate him as much as it did. He wondered if that was a bad thing. He shook his head again, and stalked towards the windowsill to try and clear his mind from stray thoughts. 

He stopped mid-stride when Rey breathed his name and then he was by her side in a flash. She'd decided to rest the length of her body on the couch, though it still smelt like the two men who occupied it earlier, he tried not to think of it. He sat sentinel beside her and let her tangle her fingers in the fur of his belly. He let out a soft purr. She let out a small, soft giggle, the kind that made the column of her throat ripple, and part her pink lips in the middle. She was.. distracting. 

"Kylo," she said again, sluggishly moving her hand up behind his ear. 

 _Yes?_ He rasped. 

"You've done so much for me." She whimpered happily, chuckling breathlessly. Her breath stank of the substance, too, but he didn't mind. 

 _I'm only doing this for both our eventual freedom_. His voice faltered in the middle. Suddenly, it became hard for him to admit this small truth. Surely he knew this would come to an end, wouldn't it? After Rey gains acceptance to the Witching academy, she'd evaluate him and set him free in the Demon world, too. But saying it aloud now, after everything that happened, after everything that he'd felt for her, and done for her.. what changed? 

She didn't seem to notice his dilemma. "You know, Kylo, I've never really connected to anyone like I did with you." She chuckled breathlessly again, like it was weighing down on her to admit it. Maybe it was. In the same way it was weighing him down to say that they would eventually leave each other. Kylo closed his eyes. When you put it like that, it certainly sounded.. sad. But wasn't that the plan? Wasn't that the goal? Kylo desperately tried to make sense of it all. What  _changed?_

"I mean," she began again. "You're a cat, so it doesn't really make any sense."

 _What doesn't make any sense?_  He found himself asking, his voice a tender caress in the never-ending warmth of her mind. 

"It doesn't make sense,"–chuckle–"that I want to always see you.. or stroke your fur.. or.. or feel you inside me." She tapped her head. She wasn't getting through to him, but somehow, he could feel the same exact thing she was describing. 

 _Is that so bad?_  He wasn't sure why he'd asked that specifically, only that he was trying to understand the new feeling. 

"It's not." She said. And it really wasn't. He could tell from the bond. "It's just.. when you look at me, when I look at you," she lifted herself up to her elbows and stared sluggishly in his eyes. He gulped despite himself. Had her brown eyes ever looked this enticing before? 

"When I look at you," she repeated, "it's like no matter what I do, I'll always find you." 

Kylo Ren smiled at that, albeit a little tensely.  _I'd lay down my life to protect you, Rey, to keep it that way. You,_ he gulped, _and I together.. But,_  he contemplated _. It might not be the case for you._

"You don't know that," she teased. Her arms shot out in front of her, her head slamming with a soft thud on the cushion as she pulled him in against her chest again. Her heart was a steady beat against his head and he was glad she wasn't staring into his eyes anymore. It was strangely very hard to form a coherent thought when she did that. 

"How do you know I'm not just in love with you?" The way she said it made his heart thump faster. 

He tried not to let his voice crack.  _You don't._ He was a  _Demon_ , for goodness sakes.  And Demon hearts' didn't  _flutter_  at a silly, drunk little human's drunken, disconnected thoughts. But it did. And he berated himself. Her grip around him tightened. 

"But you know," her voice was quiet, and soft against his ear. "If I did love you, it wouldn't be so bad." 

He allowed himself silence at that and just for a moment, for one small moment, he opened his mind up for her. And held her in his large Demon claws. She followed willingly, hugging his dark thumb. He chuckled privately. 

 _Even though I'm a Demon?_ He tried to keep the hurt from his words. But she knew it was there, he was wide open for her after all. She didn't say anything about it. And when his Demon-self pulled her close to his face, he was filled with ecstasy when she leaned in close and planted a soft, sloppy kiss under his burning eyes. 

"Even though you're a Demon." She said with finality. 

 

* * *

 

 

She knew she would never truly know peace. Not even in this Realm. The attacks to her life seemed to start after her first year on the Human Realm. But they had always happened outside.  _Outside_. The attacks didn't cross her threshold, or bother her sleep, or break the plaster above her sink and dip unnatural holes in her floors. Magic had been used to hide them. Her head throbbed painfully. Kylo Ren. This was his doing. The small, unnatural chill when she entered her apartment should have clued her in, now that the seamless spell had worn off, she could see every little thing that somehow didn't belong to her apartment before yesterday. 

Finn and Poe were drenched in the spell, too, she realized. No one would miss the ugly crack of the plaster above her sink. She wanted to scream at Kylo and push him off the couch just so she could do something about the deception. But she desperately tried to calm down and made herself a cup of Chamomile tea. He stretched languidly from his spot on the couch where she'd woken up with him curled against her chest. She stared at him curiously, but with no small amount of fury. Why didn't he just tell her? Was it so hard to do that? Maybe that was why he'd panicked the morning before and hastily closed the bond. Maybe that was why, when she'd tried to touch the bond and calm him, all he did was push her out. Maybe it was why he'd thrashed about on the couch with a nightmare of her demise. 

She didn't even notice Kylo sitting now in front of her on the table. He was looking intently at her, and his head was angled to the side, like he was waiting for a slap to come. When it didn't come, he turned his head towards her properly and declared;  _You are angry with me._

"What makes you say that?" She snapped, taking a sip at her tea to try and fight the hysterical urge to shout at him. He wasn't convinced at her false pretense at calm but he said nothing _._ When she didn't say anything, he spoke.  _Because you are angry with me._

Rey sighed, setting her cup down on the table and leaning on her elbows to stare at him. He sat there unfazed and stared right back in her eyes. There was a smallness to his energy signature that was unusual. Usually, he was big, and daunting in her mind, but now, he was reduced to a small wisp of black. Rey wasn't sure what to make of that so she brushed it aside. "Kylo, what happened yesterday morning?" She asked carefully. 

The dark wisp shivered in the expanse and grew only a fraction bigger, and then a wide sweep of regret oozed from his mind and reached hers. She blinked and waited for his response. He didn't say anything, but he softly opened his mind to her fully. Everything. Every part of his mind was suddenly accessible to her. The gravity of all of the thousand years weighed in her head and translated into a physical weight on her shoulders. She leant back out of surprise but searched his memories with careful fingers. The first time they met. His Demon form. The night he first got the chance to sleep on her stomach. Her drunken confession the night before, which she quickly ignored with a light flush. And then one particularly vibrating memory. A woman with skin the color of warm mahogany, a head of stark white hair, lips black as night, and robes billowing about her as she shot energy bolts inside her apartment. She dodged a hazy energy bolt thrown her way but realized that she wasn't really there. That it was _his_  memory. Kylo deflected the bolt just as it reached him and she watched as he fought her off—threw kitchen knives at the uninvited being, slammed her microwave against her spine—and then the memory was gone. And she was panting. 

Kylo stared at his front paws as her eyes focused back on his black fur. The words that rumbled back in her head was a soft, cautious rumble.  _I'm sorry for not saying anything._

A million thoughts ran through her head and she knew he was overloading his senses with a frantic need to understand. Why? 

He blinked up at her, apology written in his features.  _I thought I could keep it a secret._

"For what, Kylo?! Were you ever going to tell me? Was this some sort of stunt to prove something to me?" She was yelling now, the familiar tingle of anger coating her nerves, threatening to tip her over that wonderful edge again. The edge she’d successfully ignored now tempting her once more. She felt hurt, and angry, and frustrated, and  _betrayed_ , by none other than the only one, the only  _being_  she trusted. She cast a desperate glance his way, but she was sure he felt the trembling need within her to just lash out. He always did. 

He looked suddenly affronted, dejected, head dropping low, but his voice was firm. He was trying to convince her, she knew, but she wasn't having any of it.  _I was going to tell you._

"When? When were you going to tell me? When I'm long gone? When the last thing I'll be seeing when I crack an eye open in the middle of the night is a knife sinking down my chest? When, Kylo?!" Her fingers were shaking at her sides, her head still pulsing with a raging headache and her self-control threatening to spin out of control. Kylo's hurt was escalating quickly, too, she could feel it sidling up beside her anger. And then they were both staring each other down—Rey, out of barely contained fury, and Kylo with an insistent need to prove himself innocent, even through the pain her anger was causing him. She was lashing out, she was pushing her chair back, she didn’t _care._

He sighed,  _Soon_. He felt helpless. 

She wasn't convinced. "Why did you have to keep it from me? Why didn't you just  _tell me?"_

_Because I wanted to protect you._

"I don't  _need_  your protection, I  _need_  the truth!"

 _You want the truth? Fine._ He growled, drenching her in the memory of Bazine in her house, her living room, her—

 _Bazine wanted you for something. Someone wants you dead. Someone_ needs _you dead_.  _She went here to kill you, to threaten me, to kill me so it would be easier to finish you off—_

"So why didn't you tell me?!"

_Because I can't._

"Why—“

— _Because you were finally living the life you always wanted!_ Suddenly, her anger lifted, and she took a shaky step back. Her breath came ragged and labored as her eyes re-focused on him on the counter. He was shivering through the bond, his energy signature small and trembling. 

"What?" She was reeling from the revelation. Kylo's eyes drifted back to hers, and when he released a sigh, it was shaky and labored like hers was. 

 _I couldn't tell you because.. you were finally enjoying the life you always wanted. Normal, and with friends, sitting on the couch, watching TV, going to work in the morning with a stable job, and going home to sleep so you could do it all over again in the morning._ He sounded broken, he was so ashamed of himself. The smallness of him through the bond and his overwhelming concern for her; all this time he was thinking of her. All this time he'd kept those dangers away from her just so she could go to work and hang out with her friends normally. All for  _her_  sake.

His voice rumbled back in her mind, smaller now, if it could possibly ever be smaller, and not trying to convince her of his intentions any longer.  _I would have given anything to see you smile on that couch with your friends. To see you safe, and peacefully tucked under your blanket, away from the dangers of the world. And if Bazine ever came back to even try to touch you, I would do it all over again. I would stand in front of her and defend you and keep you safe all over again. I promised that I'd keep you safe, Rey, and I meant it._ He stared at her, golden eyes pleading.  _I'd lay down my life for you._

He turned away quickly, as though the look on her face wounded him deeply and she let him stalk away from her, away from the apartment to disappear down the fire escape stairs. He didn't try to close his side of the bond this time, and Rey drifted in his pain like it were her own. He didn't require any sort of response from her, and frankly, she didn't know if she had any sort of response to give. 

 

* * *

 

 

"He seems to be more fixated on the Mortal than we thought," she whispered in the dark, not bothering to see if Hux had noticed her. She knew he would, he would practically pounce at any chance she gave him to snatch the girl and dispose of her. But that wasn't what she had in mind. Hux had won nothing with his impatience. That was why he always seemed to be on the bad side of the Supreme Leader. He wasn't calculating, or careful in his methods like Kylo Ren was, and though Hux had the makings of an army general, he was deliriously impatient. 

Hux emerged from the shadows only a moment after she'd said the first word in her sentence, his each step shaking the ground on which she sat. She was smart, this time around, sitting on the floor so he couldn't get the satisfaction of seeing her tremble in his presence. He noticed this detail with disdain and growled his response. 

"He's not going to be a problem," he spoke with ease. Bazine scoffed. 

"That's not the case." She replied. Kylo Ren was stronger than he looked, all the time. Even though he had the body of a cat, he was every bit as demonic as Hux was, if not more. Hux would never be like him, he could try, Bazine allowed, but he would never succeed. 

Hux lifted a questioning brow, looking down at her from several feet of fiery limbs. "Then what  _is_  the case?"

She smirked. He'd learned to listen to her. Finally. "He grows stronger every time he perceives danger around the girl. But it also makes him weak, this," she tried to find the word, " _attention_ he gives her distracts him, and like the girl, emotions make him somewhat vulnerable. Though not by that much."

Hux slammed his palms together, fire crackling as he did. His deep midnight eyes filled with twisted mirth. "So we bait him!"

"No." She knew that wasn't going to work. That would lead Kylo Ren back to the Demon world. And in the Demon world, Kylo reached his full potential. Hux shot her a confused glare. 

"What?" 

"If you take the girl down here, he'll come after you. And if he finds his way back to the Demon world, he'll be as strong as you are."

"He's banished from this world—"

"—and bringing the girl here breaks the rules of the treaty. So when he tries to enter, the terms become null and void. Kylo would be enacting his duty as her henchman to protect her and keep her safe, and you'll be the bad guy."

"I have no qualms with being bad, Bazine. Have you forgotten? You are staring into the eyes of the devil himself!" His laughter was filled with vainglorious adoration for himself, but Hux was forgetting something very vital. 

"I wouldn't say that." She quipped. Hux's massive lid closed and opened quickly, and suddenly, he roared out in the darkness again. She waited until he'd finished and then continued as if he hadn't interrupted her. 

"You know that Snoke isn't taking Kylo Ren's departure from the Underworld very well. He's frustrated he had to lose his star pupil to none other than his damn temper. And what you want is not something Snoke wants. The only reason you aren't rampaging on the Human Realm right now is because the Supreme Leader adheres strictly to the treaty." Hux roared again, this, at least, Bazine could understand. Snoke was old and wise, but powerful all the same. He didn't want to break the treaty, he was content with an oblivious co-existence with the mortals, so long as they didn't trespass his turf and he didn't trespass theirs. Bazine didn't understand why the Supreme Leader had chosen such.. a preserved course of action. By all means, Hux's intent made the most sense to her, but Bazine knew that the Supreme Leader didn't rise to power for nothing. 

"We're going to have to plan this all out carefully. Snoke still doesn't know anything about this, does he?" She asked. It took Hux a moment before he shook his head. 

She watched as the last of her scars patched up, skin meeting skin and smoothing out together seamlessly. "Then let's keep it that way."

 

* * *

 

 

 _Demons don't require sleep._ He insisted, watching Rey scribble on a piece of paper in front of him. He moved his tail idly, rolling his eyes at her eagerness. They— _she_ —was planning to set up some sort of watchdog schedule each night. Kylo kept insisting his help, he kept repeating to her that he required only ample time to relax his muscles and then he was up on his feet again, warding off monsters here and there. She still wasn't looking at him after the dam broke between them a few hours ago. The sun was just beginning to set when he returned, and she immediately darted her eyes to the floors when they wandered anywhere close to his form. 

He kept the bond open to her so he could show her that he harbored no such hostile sentiments regarding her outburst that morning. She'd simply wanted to know the truth and he could find no fault in that. When she finally mustered the courage to speak up to him—she approached him bundled up in her new blue blanket with bloodshot eyes and trembling fingers—it was to propose a plan for them to keep guard of the apartment and take shifts at night to play watchdog. He'd declined, of course, and convinced her he was enough, that she could sleep. But she didn't listen. Instead, she held up a piece of paper, and a pen, and commanded him to sit on the table so they could 'talk about it.'

He indulged her, if only so he could see her smile again. Truly smile. Ever since he came back, all she ever gave him were either half smiles, smiles with sniffles, or a pair of puppy dog eyes to make him agree. The last one had worked, and now Rey was happily jotting down her schedule to play watchdog. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Kylo bargained the Thursday away, claiming that he could just as easily watch over the apartment, and over her for a whole week and it wouldn't tire him out. To which she'd countered the bargain and insisted that they both keep watch at Thursday. He nodded. This was what he was going to do anyway. And she could try to get him to rest but she won't succeed. 

Satisfied with what she managed to accomplish, she pressed the paper of their schedules against her fridge door, and kept it there with a small piece of magnet. He admired it silently when she excused herself to use the bathroom.

Rey was a human he didn't deserve. She made him feel things he'd never imagine he'd ever feel again. He felt cared for, like his mother had done for him. He felt enjoyment as they watched the glowing box together, he felt contentment when she pulled him close and nuzzled his head, he felt peace when they meditated at the center of her living room, felt wonder at the way she accepted his teachings with vigor, and he felt.. love. 

That wasn’t quite right. Perhaps spending time in the Human world did make one feel things. He wasn't entirely sure of the last part, but at the moment, it seemed like the closest explanation to the quickening beat of his heart whenever she was close by, caressing him, or in the process of doing so. He decided the words blurred out against each other and perhaps no words were needed to define the feeling in his chest, so he let it be. She emerged from the bathroom only a minute later and settled back to her chair. 

Her hair was still down, brown locks a little frizzy from the humid air coming in from the open living room window. She was carefully treading around his head now that it was open, carefully avoiding the memories she thought he might not like to share. He had smiled at her and thanked her but still, she didn't smile back quite enough. He could hear the questions bouncing around in her mind. Really, this girl always had questions. He padded close to her on top of the table and settled directly in the middle of her line of sight. 

His voice was a soothing rumble in her mind.  _I know you have questions._

Her head perked up and, maybe if she'd been a cat, her ears would perk up along with it. She'd told him he had that habit lots of times before, but he'd always casually brushed it off. Until she'd propose a piece of knowledge he previously didn't know and laugh at the visible twitch in his ear at the promise of it. 

Rey sounded careful as she inquired, the memory of Bazine's attack still fresh within her—like she'd experienced it with him. "Who was she?" 

 _Her name is Bazine. A half demon_. He said. 

She nodded, "I could tell. She seemed rather weak." 

He shook his head.  _The only reason I was able to outmaneuver her is because she was weakened by the light of day. Bazine's powers come into fruition at night_. And then he uttered more seriously,  _She's a shape-shifter_.

That seemed to startle her a little, a sharp pang of fear slicing through her subconscious. "Do you think she'll come back?"

 _She will_. And that was his honest prediction.   _But I don't know when. And in what form._

Rey considered this in her head and stared distantly in his direction. "Did she say anything specific about why she was after me?" 

Kylo wished she had, then maybe he could hunt the bastard down and make his life a living hell. He almost laughed at the irony of it. Almost.  _She said a certain 'he' was looking for you. That he needs to get to you out of the way before he could try to invade this Realm._

"But why me?"

 _I don't know_. He admitted. 

"Maybe we could try to find out the next time they come back. Talk to them, maybe, find out." She offered, and he was surprised to realize that she really did consider the move in her mind. Kylo was a cat now, but his cat instincts didn't make him blind to the hard-headedness of his kind. No one could reason with a Demon. A life was the only thing they'd take for a bargain. 

_You know that's not going to work, Rey._

She frowned at the rejection of her idea, but knew he was right. The cogs in Kylo's head turned as he tried to think of a way to either stop the attacks once and for all, or try to understand why the attacks kept happening at all.

That's it. 

 _Maybe_ , he began. Rey looked at him.  _Maybe we could find someone who could tell us what the Demons need you for. Maybe it has something to do with your destiny._

"Like an oracle?" She asked. Kylo Ren nodded mutely. 

_Yes. Exactly like an oracle._

"Where do you think we'll find one?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys! I've found a soundtrack for Bazine (idk, I kinda like her, in this Universe at least) and it's Banks' "Before I Ever Met You," try and give it a listen.
> 
> I'm so stoked with this story, tbh. It's the first multi-chapter I feel devoted to. Hopefully the questions raised from the past chapter gets somewhat answered here. :) and if you're wondering, Bazine is based from the Rakshasa shape shifting demon. Not as much in appearance, but in other aspects. 
> 
> I'll try to update as much as I can. Thank you for reading! :)


	8. Triumviri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to take this time to thank my best friend slash number one fan, Shane. Thank you for being the best supporter and for helping me work out some details when I first pitched the story to you before you decided you liked it so much, you didn't want me to spoil you of the story by running the details with you. Love you all the same!
> 
> Thank you to those who continue to read, leave comments/kudos on my story! I'm currently working out some of the details and editing the chapters I've finished at the same time. Sorry if it takes quite a while. Enjoy!

He led her down streets in the silence, after dark when all the world was sleeping. She’d bargained to do it in the morning since she was feeling rather out of it after the scuffle Bazine had left them in as a souvenir from her visit. But he’d ordered her to fish out a ceremonial dagger, one she’d thankfully brought along with her upon taking here leave from the Witching Realm. Blessedly, she’d been able to smuggle it along with her slight belongings, letting it sit at the bottom. He had her carve out a straight line, a spear with two blades on each end. At the middle of the spear, she carved out a large diamond, inlaid with two at the center and connected on four sides with lines. Above it, a crescent cradled an eight-spoke wheel, separated from the diamonds—the Hall of Lugh—with a single line. And beneath, the same crescent, cradling a spiral, separated, too, with a single line.

 _Together, these signs affirm the Order of the Worlds, The Sigil of the Cosmos._ Kylo had said, watching her trace the carving. _The eight-spoke wheel of the Heavens where the Gods reside, the Hall of Lugh, the diamond, symbol of the Middleworld, and the Spiral that represents the Underworld powers. It will bring you protection._

During the fall, it was most effective, he’d said, and she knew. It was the time for the communion with the dead, one such ceremony that, they theorized, allowed for Bazine’s relatively undetected passage within the Realm. The veil that connected the Realms thinned this time of year, allowing magic to flow freely from plane to plane. He’d confessed to her, rather shamefully, how he hadn’t taken notice of Bazine until it was too late. Too many spirits roamed this time of the year, when the veil that connected the Realms thinned this time of year, allowing magic to flow freely from plane to plane. Along with it was the celebration of the living and the dead, when Witches communed with the departed in ceremonies and rituals.

Rey had very few memories of the days of the living and the dead back in the Witching Realm; The Unveiling. With no family left alive and only two to commune with, she’d refrained from the festivities up until the last of the celebrations she’d experienced before her exile.

With the sigil of protection in place, she followed Kylo in a long walk towards a shoddy looking street, complete with busted lamp lights and cracked cement. The buildings around this area were more in shambles than the dilapidated edifice of the structure where she and Kylo had first met. Not a single person was around, at the corners, only moss grew, no plants, or any of the beautiful flowers she admired some of her neighbors to have on their windowsill. Here, everything was dingy, smelly, and broken. The air was chilled, more chilled, it seemed that if a mist were to roll in, she’d find her toes curling in on her sneakers. It was a stroke of luck that she wore a sweater this time around. Every time Kylo brought her somewhere, he’d always give her answers that shied away from the truth. This instance, was one of such.

“Where are we going?” she inquired, rubbing her hands against her shoulders.

His steps were mechanical and quiet, the cold seemed to have no effect on him. _To find the oracle._

“A little insight would be helpful. I have no clue whatsoever and you’re dragging me to dangerous parts of the city and yet you expect me not to ask anything.” She continued as he walked and turned his head this way and that to try and spot something in the dark. She heard no response from him after that, so she grumbled instead, falling in step behind him and squinting in the dim, the occasional flickering lamp light her only aid.

After a moment of still nothing in sight, she tried again. “Are you sure we’re going the right way?”

His head turned to the left, his nose lifting in the air. _Yes. Down there._

The alley was as gruesome looking as the rest of the neighborhood, it was but a scant space between two brick walls, only wide enough to accommodate one person through. Kylo slipped with ease, of course, trailing forward like a serpent, a shadow darker than its environment. Only when he looked back with annoyance did she remember to continue forward, stumbling awkwardly over wet asphalt and gagging over the stench. Kylo was bothered as much as she was, if the stiffening of his tail was anything to go by, but he pushed it down just as quickly as it surged up. There was a quiet urgency to his movements she now saw. Whatever was going to happen tonight, he was determined to get to the bottom of Bazine’s visit.

At last they came to the end of the alley, sneaking beside an old flower shop long devoid of flowers. The only trace it even had flowers in the first place were long, plastic plots of soil splayed with dried up leaves and stems and sprigs. She walked on quietly behind Kylo, who seemed more distracted than she’d ever seen him before, focusing hard on his surroundings until he found what he was looking for. Beneath a big fig tree was a shabby little tent made out of canvas and linen and torn up silk, hastily thrown together to resemble a dwelling. A slit sliced the fabrics in front where dim candlelight glow gushed out. It was laughably comical; a thrown together tent of fabric under a flourishing fig tree in the middle of a ruined neighborhood and _still_ Kylo was walking forward straight into the tent.

Inside it smelt like an entire flower garden had thrown up and pots of mint were thrown into the mix.. as well as a generous dose of spunk. Kylo’s whiskers twitched in disgust as he stared down a woman moaning shamelessly beneath a red-faced man, whimpering and groaning with each thrust.

_Nice to see you’ve been enjoying what the Mid-Realm has to offer, Sasha._

At that, the man looked up frantically, before his eyes landed on Kylo Ren sitting on his haunches. Rey blushed beside him, trying and failing to school her face into a look of nonchalance, as if to say _I don’t care._ But it wasn’t working, clearly it wasn’t, so she opted to look down at the fine lines and seams of a roughly hewn ensemble of canvas fabrics splotched here and there with liquid she had no interest in finding out. A loud groan rang out above all the panting and cursing, a shrill female voice, a stern, heavily accented command to the man to _get the fuck out._

“You,” the voice said, but when she looked up, it wasn’t directed to her.

Kylo stepped out of the way as Sasha stomped her way to a small foldable table. “You’re a fucking asshole, you know that?”

Decently clothed in a deep purple robe, she sank down on a wooden chair, pouring herself a blood red colored wine. Around her neck hung a necklace, a red gem in the shape of a teardrop sporting the same color as her wine. Her hair was black and mussed from where she’d lain with the man, and her face was sour and impatient from having been denied release. Kylo ignored everything that made Sasha angry, instead climbed up her table to stare at her intently.

_We need your help._

“Funny way to ask it, Ren. When someone’s in the middle of fucking, you leave them be.”

_I have no time for this._

Sasha rolled her eyes and took that moment to stare at Rey. She stood still, taking stock of her again, along with the rest of the tent. Inside, it was bigger, and cozier, the unmade bed was made acceptable with its silken sheets gilded with silver and lace. The fabric draped smoothly on each side of the pinched center at the top, feeding into long, heavy curtains of rich blue and red fabric. There were no flower pots or plots of land where stems and leaves sprouted, only a big thick shelf off to one side of the bed filled with all manner of jars of roots, and flowers, and herbs, some lids loose, others completely gone, and a great many screwed shut tight.

“And you have time for her?”

 _Bazine’s come for her._ Kylo declared without preamble, cutting to the chase.

Sasha contemplated his statement by taking a long sip of her wine, twirling the goblet in her hands before setting it down with a huff. “And you want me to look into something that might explain it, yes?”

By now, it was obvious that, from the seemingly thick consistency of Sasha’s ‘wine’ and the glittering sharp white fangs peeking from behind her lips, Sasha was anything but the human appearance she took on. Rey’s eyes wandered to the string around her neck again, gulping.

Kylo replied. _Yes. And we need to know now._

“You’re a Blood Witch.”

Sasha gave her an odd look, like for a second, she was thinking whether to get offended or just simply ignore it. She chose to continue looking at Rey oddly, sipping from her wine glass again. Next she nodded over to Kylo with a sly grin. “Why don’t you ask your companion?”

Kylo sighed, or, in his cat form, presented it by the lifting and sagging of his shoulders. _Yes, Rey, Sasha is a Blood Witch._

“Bloodfell, to be exact.” She said. "Initially, all of us were just blood witches. Until our need for blood became our downfall. Hence, the Council thought it necessary to specify the fact that we _fell_ because of our need for blood, and so, Bloodfell." Sasha added, standing upright. Rey’s blood simmered with panic. Sasha’s pale fingers reached for her arms as she corralled her onto the wooden chair. Though they held no particular interest in the humans as much as the demons. They came from a perverse line of Witches who took on human vessels to roam around the streets of the human realm, thirsting for blood. At least that was what they were until the Great War ultimately ended by the treaty. They kept in line some of the Demons who stole humans to vessel. A bloodfell was a vampire, of sorts, who helped cure human vessels, sucked their blood not to turn them, but did so in order to weed out the commandeering spirits. They used blood to complete spells, acquire knowledge from people, learned the intricacies of their lives from a single drop of red liquid.

Only few lived anywhere within the Realms, they were forbidden in the Witching Realms. The Witching Council, though they believed in the power of the bloodfell, outlawed their practice after most of them engaged in debauchery with the Demons. Some even forwent the healing the vessels, instead, fornicated with them. Years past and their kind waned, unapproved by the Council, their scriptures and texts were burnt and their magick forbidden. Sasha was probably the few that still remained. The scant few.

“Were you healing that man?” Rey asked, watching with timid eyes as Sasha’s hands hovered over various objects on her table. Her hair shifted a little with a slow nod, and her eyes were blue crystals glinting in the fire. She gave Rey another sly grin, unsheathing a sharp knife the length of her forearm.

“No. I was enjoying his company.” She slid a rag over the steel, observing it whilst bringing it up in the air. “Until you showed up.”

Behind her, on the table, Kylo rolled his eyes.

“Tell me, young one. Where is your heart?”

Warily, Rey’s fingers hovered over her left breast, eyes not leaving Sasha’s. She frightened her, more than anything, and not just because she had a dagger and Kylo seemed docile, but because she’d never seen a vampire before, and the prospect of her destiny didn’t seem to make her feel comfortable after finding out that a half demon was supposedly after her on orders from _another_ demon.

Sasha placed her fingers over Rey’s and nodded slowly, slipping her fingers away and replacing it with hers. Rey felt her stroke at the fabric before slashing the knife she held on her left hand. She never would have thought she’d cut through the fabric with ease, but as her fingers shivered to touch the tear in the cloth, she saw her blood oozing out just so. Sasha dropped down on her knees with a greedy giggle and lapped at the blood that gushed out. Rey panted, fear rising up in her throat, but she willed herself to still and looked at Kylo instead. His cat face was schooled so he showed nothing on the surface, but his mindscape was a different story. His body ached to reach out and help her.

Surprisingly, her wound left as soon as it appeared and when she looked down, there was no cut in her skin at all. The flesh molded back in place, not a spot of blood anywhere. Sasha smacked her lips a few times and looked at her seriously, shooting a sideways glance to Kylo, too. She stood still for a moment, tilting her head at Rey like she was trying to figure out how her mind worked. Maybe she was, Rey had no way of knowing.

“Your destiny is yours, my child. So yours is the decision to share it. Do you wish to share it with him?” She gestured to Kylo on the table and offered her hand to Rey.

She nodded without much hesitation, sliding her hand in Sasha’s. Sasha pulled her other hand to the table, palm up, instructing Kylo to place his paw on top of it before touching a finger on Kylo’s head.

There was a change all around her, it barely registered to her that she had closed her eyes. A brilliant shock of white startled her. It reminded her of Kylo's whitewashed memory, the haziness of a forgotten thought, only this one held a much clearer image, finer lines, defined-looking features, and less blurry movements. She saw red-darkness coating the sky all around her, the buildings lost in the sea of nothingness and the streets filled with the tremor of frightened citizens. She gasped, unable to quell the growing fear rising up her throat. Only Kylo's presence steadied her. The image shifted to what looked like an opening in the asphalt, in an intersection, where a ball of light was spurting light towards the heavens—a blue, incandescent ray of light piercing the inky blackness in the middle like a hurricane forever churning. It was a soundless piece of memory, but Rey was quick to dread it all. 

The Mortal Realm was in danger. 

She felt confusion flare from Kylo Ren through the bond and squinted as the image neared what looked like a figure inside the blue ball of light. Brown locks, a tanned freckled face, lithe arms—her body was bent unnaturally, her back arched and her feet floating several inches from the ground, her arms suspended in mid-air and her eyes shining in the same luminous blue. Her chest suddenly felt tight, her breath suddenly became tortured, but the image still shifted, unforgiving, and she couldn't quite look away. _I_ _need_ _to_ _do_ _something_. _They need me to do something. I have to save the Mortal Realm_.

_From what?_

As if on cue, a towering Demon materialized behind a broken building, crouched on all fours. His midnight blue eyes burned with a kind of eagerness that stabbed a sharp dagger of fear in her gut and _twisted_. The demon was burning from head to toe, scales white-hot and claws igniting everything it came across. Kylo's anger was a strange, unexpected feeling in her mind. She'd never felt him so angry. The burning demon turned in her direction with a snarl, and gave chase, bounding on his legs and giving a mighty roar. He was closing in. A little more and she would be seeing how unfortunate her demise would be. In the middle of the city, in the hands of a raging demon. 

Only she didn't die. 

A hard shoulder rammed into the side of the burning demon's crouched form and he landed on a building, shaking it away from its support, cement and stone breaking under his thick torso. The other, darker demon panted, his body was made out of iron, hard and metallic, horns reaching his bicep and eyes burning with the light of a thousand suns. Kylo Ren froze. So did Rey. The dark demon skulked forward towards the fire demon, slamming an open palm against its thick, burning cheek, clenching his fist and digging his solid claws into its head but the flame didn't sear his skin. 

A fiery leg shot out from under him and landed a kick on his stomach, sending him hurtling against a building from across him. There was no blood from the encounter on neither one of them, there was only anger, pure unadulterated anger and.. pain. The dark demon stood up and charged with his horns jutted forward at the fire demon but as the thick twist of the dark demon's horns rammed against the fire demon's, its claws latched on them and with a mighty tug, sent him flying out of sight, crashing into another building far away. 

Rey wasn't breathing, now, too caught up in everything that was happening. The fire demon's claw broke the blue ball of light she was in. Rey could taste the fear in her mouth. The fire demon wore a wicked smile, and then—gone.

She barely registered the exact moment the oracle's thick fingers left her head like it had touched something burning, or the physical task it was becoming for her to stay upright. She fell forward with a soft thud, the crouched form of Kylo Ren beside her the last thing she saw.

 

* * *

 

The next time she opened her eyes, it was to little blurry orbs glinting in the distance, and the scent of wet earth. Instinctually, she dipped into the bond to find Kylo there, warm and pulsing, soothing her racked nerves with his presence. He was sitting patiently on his haunches somewhere within the space around her.

Kylo was looking out into the horizon she was looking over to, as well, golden eyes seemingly fixed on one such human cradling a crying infant in her arms. She sent a nudge over to the bond, firm enough to get him to turn around. His head flinched, half of his golden orbs peeking out to her. He didn't directly look at her, absorbed in some sort of self-loathing. She waited for something that he might say; she knew it was coming. She could tell it from the way his shoulders shifted.

 _I am sorry._ His voice was a whisper. 

She tilted her head curiously, Kylo's heartbeat was an endless thump in her head. "For what?" She settled closer beside him, registering the bench they were now sat together. 

He kept his eyes on the blinking lights of the cars in the distance, the shine of the last lights on the building windows, the quick shuffle of humans on the sidewalks, crossroads, and pedestrians, and answered her.  _I should have known._

She was confused. "What do you mean?"

 _It's Hux,_  he admitted. _I should have known it was Hux._  A fleeting image of the fiery demon sprouted inside her head. It was a clear image. Like Kylo had known the demon for most his life.  _He wants you._

He turned to her, then, his eyes holding her hazel irises in a gaze that weighed like the entire world around them, so small in the face of its impending doom.  _He wants to kill you, Rey. He wants you dead so he could override the treaty._ And then with a sigh _, he wants war._

His eyes drifted back to the oblivious humans milling about, so absorbed in a world so fragile. "Is that what you want, too?" 

She asked it as tenderly as she could, knowing he might take offense for it. But he didn't. It was the same question he'd been asking himself the moment he saw Hux's intentions in the vision. In truth, it _was_ what he wanted. He wanted the bloodlust, the suffering and what came after. The part where he can lord over lesser beings and be crowned and called and esteemed in the highest name.

The oracle was never wrong. Not once. Hux was violating everything Rey's kind had worked for to keep the Realms balanced and though he knew where Hux was coming from, he couldn't understand why he didn't share the sentiment. Not anymore. His eyes focused on the human infant in the arms of the frazzled human mother. She still emitted a warm feeling of joy and affection for the little boy in her arms, despite the turmoil and desperation clouding her head. 

_I’ve been watching her._

Rey followed his gaze to the mother. Her hair was put up in a messy bundle of strands on top of her head. It reminded her of lazy Sunday afternoons in her apartment with Quinlan Vos’ spell book laying open in a forgotten heap at her feet and Kylo Ren somewhere in the room urging her to _try again_.

 _Twice in an hour did she think of leaving the infant behind. Of laying him down behind the bushes where he was hidden only long enough for someone to find and get him to a better place. In her mind, it’s right, safe, even, for the child._ The mother hobbled on another nearby bench, a far enough away perch from theirs where they could continue to watch her. The child cried relentlessly, even after the mother seemed to go through great pains to quiet him with coos. _She could do it; could leave him there so that others could feed him when she couldn’t. There had been many opportunities for her to have done it. So many windows of time she could have done what she thought right. But.. her child lay cradled in her arms all the same, because of one single wisp of something inside her that she kept holding on to._

 _Humans are unlike any being I've ever seen. They have what other beings do not._ He admitted. 

"What's that?"

 _Humans.. they live their lives undeterred. They have happiness, they exist with vigor, and even in moments that they perceive everything has taken a turn for the worst, they have.._  he tried to grasp for the right word. And when he finally found it, his eyelids fluttered.  _They have Hope_. 

Rey almost snorted. "That's just because they don't know of the treaty, or, the existence of any of our Realms, they don’t know beings like you or me."

Kylo Ren seemed to consider that, but it formed a strange kind of smile on his lips.  _Maybe_.  _But I think that even though they knew of it, even though we say it to them, and, by some miracle they believe us, I think they'd still have hope even then._ He was humming pleasantly against the bond, too. There was an odd sense of restfulness to his features.  _And I don't think that resilience warrants or deserves destruction._

Rey resisted the urge to reach over and touch him, as a smile curved its way upon her lips. She knew he was right. Humans were strange beings filled with so much life. She couldn't help but agree with him. "What changed?" She asked in a voice only above a whisper. She didn't mind, she knew he could hear her just the same. 

There was a pause, and then the beating of his heart was almost like a lullaby.  _I did._

 

* * *

 

 

It was.. hard to continue on living with a new, terrifying truth weighing down on her shoulders. Each time she moved and tried to even think about doing something, she had to keep her mental defenses up and her senses sharp as a knife. Her head was filled with worry for entirely otherworldly kinds of things. She suddenly envied the little miseries Finn had— _why has Poe not called in the past half hour? Where is that blasted Arthur from accounting? And what the hell is up with the weather?_ Or the frustrations oozing from Mel's head— _will I ever find love? Wait, did that customer just flip me off?_

She wished she had plain, Human frustrations, too, those that didn't inspire fear in her bones or fill her brain with a misery that physically _wilted_ her limbs. But despite it all, she moved and worked with the efficiency with which Finn hired her for, and let the day pass as wordlessly as she could. 

By lunch she knew she was going to have to say something. Especially to the stern look the man in front of her was giving. 

"You are going to tell me what's wrong, Rey. And you are going to tell the truth." Finn warned, snatching her sandwich from between her fingers and taking an angry bite out of it. She let the action take some of the tension out of her shoulders and allowed herself a small smile. She wondered if she really  _could_  tell the truth to him. 

"I'm just feeling a little miserable for my luck in life, is all." She said honestly. She hoped he wouldn't ask—

"Why's that?"

She sighed. "There's just a lot happening in my life I'm not happy about. But, I can handle it." She tried to convince herself. "I guess." 

Finn didn't look too convinced, but he handed her sandwich back with measured slowness, his eyes still pinning her in her place. She took the sandwich with a small thank you and considered it a win, at least.

"I can give you a raise, if you want." He offered after a while, tapping his fingers on the table. It made her smile–truly smile–to think that he would actively do something that would try to at least lift her spirits, but she declined. She'd barely find comfort with her other co-workers, getting a raise now would be unfair to the lot of them. Finn's nod was slow and understanding, before he took the liberty of placing his warm hand over hers. 

"Rey, if you need anything, anything at all, Poe and I are always happy to help. You know that, don't you?" His eyes were shining. 

She reciprocated his gesture and smiled at him back. "I know. Thank you."

Finn squeezed her hand finally, and held her hand until they were both back out and working to serve the customers. Rey's senses were heightened from the spell she and Kylo had cast over themselves that morning, but a certain tiredness rested deep within her bones. 

After her shift, she was all too eager to leave for home and take an immediate rest. She was scheduled to keep watch tonight and she decided to make good on her decision even though Kylo would stubbornly refuse she do. She needed to know she was doing something for him. It was important to her. Finn apologized for not being able to join her again, but being the longest employee in the cafe, he had already been assigned to keep the shop in tip top shape. She waved his apologies away as usual, kissed him on the cheek and bid him farewell. 

A familiar figure met her when she stepped out back, this time, heading directly for her car. It was Jessika, and she was looking a lot better now than when they had first met. She hugged Rey tightly once she got close enough and held both her hands in hers. "I forgot to say thank you to you last time. So I came by today. Uhm, thank you." 

Her voice was a little pitchy and it came out with small huffs, like she'd ran a marathon before stopping by. Rey flashed her a bright, albeit a little tired, smile. The air around them was only just becoming chilly in the pale fall. 

"I was thinking, maybe I could treat you to dinner or something after what you did for me." She kept smiling. 

"You don't have to, Jess, really. It's okay."

Jessika looked down shyly and offered something else instead. "Then, maybe you could come visit my Dad."

 

* * *

 

 

Jessika's Dad's gravestone was polished white marble under Rey's fingertips, the inscription was pristine and without mud or soil in between its slim crevices.  _Jonathan Pava,_ the inscription read, and under it the period of his life before his untimely demise. Jessika was a constantly silent presence beside her, looking down on her father's grave with equal parts admiration and sorrow. But unlike that day she inhaled wisps of black coffee to be reminded of her father, her sorrow was a more content feeling surrounding her senses. It was like Rey had found a person to share in her mourning without meaning to, and she was more than glad Jessika brought her to her father's grave somehow. Maybe it was time to come to terms with the tight hold she had over the loss of her parents. Maybe it was time to let go of the pain. 

Jessika hovered just outside of Rey's peripheral vision and laid a single white rose on her father's gravestone. Rey watched the exchange with a slight smile. 

"Hey, Dad," Jessika whispered. "I want you to meet my friend, Rey."

Rey directed her smile to the soundless gravestone. Looking at it brought a strange feeling of warmth within her. Her parents never had gravestones. Neither her mother or father reached that step, they reached their end, instead, in the most gruesome way anyone could think of. 

"My name is Rey. Your daughter is wonderful. I'm sure you're proud of her." Rey said carefully, casting a glance at Jessika who had blushed from the praise. Her eyes drifted back to the gravestone again and Rey distantly thought that Jessika's presence gave off an entirely different aura than her largely male friends. She was a little too clingy, mousy, and maybe a little too emotional, but she was a welcome change. 

"You know, I'm really glad we've met, Jess." Rey found herself saying. Jessika's head whipped back to her in attention, a shy smile curving her lips. 

"Yeah?" 

Rey nodded, crouching down beside her in front of his father's grave. "Yeah. In fact, you wouldn't  _believe_  how desperate I've been meaning to have a girl in my circle of friends."

Rey didn't expect the soft giggle that escaped from Jessika in that moment, her slender wrist connecting with her chin and her fingers covering her lips. Rey chuckled with her despite the tiredness in her bones. 

"You know," Rey offered. "Maybe you'd like to spend some time at home with my friends. They'd love you. They love everybody."

The private smile she gave her elicited a smile within her, too. Kylo Ren would have to awkwardly tread around a new addition to Rey's circle of friends, but she'd cross that bridge when she got there. She wrapped an arm around Jessika's shoulders and pressed her close beside her. Somehow, she didn't feel so low and desolate. Kylo Ren was right after all. Humans were hopeful creatures. Slow elation. Maybe that was what made her ignore a slight twinge of something alien from Jessika before they broke apart.

 

* * *

 

 

Kylo Ren found it odd that the restlessness he'd previously felt from her mind receded into a kind of slow and steady hum of peace when she came back that afternoon. He'd been thrown off the bed just this morning because Rey was shrieking about being late. It had been frustrating. But while he would have easily ignored her and went back to sleep before, now he checked in on her through the bond out of instinct, sending a nudge her way to make sure if everything was alright. She responded with a short, sluggish nod but smiled in his direction just the same. Her smiles were still tired, and filled with a heaviness that had nothing to do with thoughts of being 'late for work.' He understood that sense of weariness because it was the way he felt, too. They still haven't gotten around the sudden gravity of the situation, if Kylo was being honest with himself. Living had suddenly become a little lacking of a sense of adventure and joy. 

But seeing Rey like this, humming as she passed the door, and plucking her hair tie off to shake out her hair, was a different side to her he wasn't sure what to make of. He found his perch on the kitchen counter, just beside Rey's old coffee-maker, and began studying the way she moved. Her fingers were quick and nimble, fishing out bottles and little jars, and spoons, and knives from their places around the kitchen. Her hips were swaying to a wordless tune inside her head. He dipped into her mind to hear it, but even taking in the notes, it didn't produce much of a consistent rhythm. But she was dancing to it, nonetheless, and then when she blinked her eyes open—he hadn't noticed they were closed—her pupils were slightly out of focus, and cloudy.

He saw past through the façade once he'd realized and braced himself when Rey leant forward on her elbows in front of him. Her forearm met with the cold marble with a light little thud as her nose found the spot between his slim neck, and trim shoulder. There were no tears in her eyes, but the way the bond shifted unstably was enough to clue him in on a heavy weight Rey had been carrying for at least half the day. He wrapped himself around her through the bond and rubbed his cheek against her jaw physically, trying to chase away whatever she was feeling. 

The tips of her brown hair were chilled from the moistness in the air outside and her fingers were cold to the touch as it slid past his front legs and tangled into the fur of his stomach. They were a tangle of warm energy through the bond, sharing the common need to be understood. 

Kylo broke the silence first, carefully echoing inside her head.  _Did something bad happen?_

Rey kept still against him, before her fingers wrapped around his ribs and lifted him up. He let himself be carried as Rey set aside the jars and utensils she took out of their cupboards and sat on the counter with her legs pulled up. He nestled in the space between her stomach and legs and looked up at her expectantly. She didn't speak immediately but she showed him through the bond the death of her parents once more. Kylo Ren tilted his head curiously. He was no stranger to the memory. But why now, all of a sudden? 

He didn't have to wait too long. "I miss them, Kylo." She whispered against the top of his head. 

He didn't share the desire to want to see his parents again, but Kylo knew that somehow, there was a general quality of sadness that accompanied Rey's memories. It was the kind that made you want to go back so much, but then stop yourself once you realize that going back would be risking a world of pain. 

He rubbed his head against her cheek to restore a soft smile on her lips and he didn't shy away when her fingers stroked his chin. 

 _Would you like to show them to me?_ He asked. Strangely, he was really curious about who Rey's parents had been, how they'd moved and treated her. The question seemed to have elicited a surge of warmth from her, an amalgam of sorrow and longing, and brought a sparkle in her eyes that he hadn't seen ever since their encounter with the oracle. He smiled privately. Memories flitted across the bond and Kylo was treated to the sight of a young girl sitting at what looked like the edge of a cliff, wind howling and waves crashing a thousand feet beneath her. But there was no fear. A man called out to her from behind and Kylo watched as the girl scrambled to her small feet and lurched forward in a sprint towards the man. The image faded and another one took its place. The same young girl, brown locks a hazy little halo around her head. Her cheeks were red and sweat formed at her brow and in her arms where two infant dogs, one chocolate brown and the other a splotchy mix of deep orange and white. The man's mouth parted in the middle and another woman came into view, moving with grace as she took one pup in her arm while the man took the other.

_“Can I keep them, daddy, please?”_

The man gave a hearty laugh, crouched down and admired the two yelping lumps of fur and slobber. _“Wherever did you find them?”_

_“They were in a cave down close by the sea. And they were very scared, daddy.”_

He exchanged a look with the woman in the memory, whose brown hair and shimmering blue eyes provided all the answer he needed. And then a smile, and the girl was pulling at the other pup from her mother. _“I’ll love them, daddy, and take care of them, too. Like you do with me.”_

That memory faded, too, and then a stormy night, a car speeding down the asphalt, a man pressing his foot down to no avail, the woman screaming, and the child's short arms haplessly covering her face, and then red, and blue, and white, and people in surgical greens, and beds being pushed around. 

She stretched her legs forward, then, he barely noticed the tears that streaked down her cheeks. Kylo struggled to find his balance at the shift of her limbs, but Rey deftly tucked him in one arm to keep him from falling. She curled them back and crossed them afterwards, depositing him at the center of her legs, where her thighs met. 

And then she touched his face. 

Her fingers found the bulging curve of his eye socket, just beneath his eyes. Her thumbs pressed soft lines along the path of his whiskers and rubbed down the sides of his neck. His eyes closed as her forefinger traced the curve of his head and as her thumbs smoothed the fine hairs on his ears. 

And then she laughed, but her eyes were still shining with liquid. His eyes shot open, his mind readying itself for what she might tease him about. It would be something about him being a  _cat_  again, having no control over his actions. 

"My father had piercing eyes like you. But he wasn't as snarky, silly kitty." Her voice had a lightness to it he'd never heard before. He was instantly enraptured. He hadn't even noticed the moniker that should have offended him. He just brushed it away. Her touching him this way should have offended him, but here he was, a slave to her ministrations. 

 _I'm not snarky_. He tried to say it as jovially as he could but it still came out monotonously.

She laughed. "Of course you are. And my mom," she continued, tracing a line from the base of his neck down his spine. Her touch left warmth in its trail, making the already rapid beating of Kylo Ren's heart go even faster. "My mom was delicate, and graceful, like you. You look like the two most important people in my life." Her voice faded out at the end as she spoke the words against his head again. Kylo wondered how many times she'd curled herself in to show him her affection.

"I think they would have liked you." She said after a while, pulling her head back and out of his personal space. The urge to feel her through human fingers came back and he tentatively lifted a paw and pressed it against her chest, where he thought her heart would be. The thump made him go lax through the bond as Rey closed her eyes. He let his paw drop to her lap only a moment later, his head dropping low. 

 _But I'm a Demon._ He mumbled dejectedly, looking at the marble counter as if it were more interesting than the girl in front of him.

"So?" She replied. Kylo looked up. 

"You also saved me from that shape shifter. And you tried very hard to be nice to my friends. And you helped me clean the house when I asked you to." She laughed again and lifted a brow at him. " _And_  you complimented my dress."

His memories shifted to an image of Rey in that silk blue dress and, while it didn't inspire his heart to thump quickly at it before, now it was thumping  _frantically_. He masked the gleeful jolt the memory gave him and hid it from her. It was embarrassing. She would find it embarrassing so he had to hide it. 

 _But I'm still a Demon._  Was his stubborn reply. 

"So what if you are, Kylo? You've done things for me no Demon would ever do for a Mortal."  He finally,  _finally_ , saw that warm tug of a smile of her lips. It overloaded his senses and made him feel lightheaded. 

 _You are.. different._ He frowned at his words, unsure about the use of it. She  _was_  different, he mused, but he doubted the word was the right term. She didn't say anything to that and instead reached at him to scratch at the spot behind his ear that made his body vibrate the quickest.  _You are special_ , he said after much thought. Her hand stilled as their eyes locked. 

He nodded to himself, satisfied.  _You are special to me._

He felt no doubt from her, her mind now an open landscape of memories and thoughts. He noted how he'd never truly appreciated it before. So he took his time in her head, careful not to rifle or pull at an errant thought so he could analyze it though the urge was there. He let her keep her memories from pooling at his feet and he was happy just being in the inviting heat of her mind. Perhaps the memories she showed him made her feel more confident, or maybe it was the new thickness of their bond, connecting them now like a slim, but firm grip of elastic around their hearts. 

It was a ridiculous way to describe it, he knew, but that was closest to the truth. So he let it slide. He let her treat him to a small film of her memories, there he saw Rey tending to a few hidden plants in a hidden part of a garden at the orphanage, her smile bright and bursting with life. And then there was Rey, with adrenaline coursing through her veins at the first attempt at a flying spell she stole from the witching academy main library. Rey sitting on her folded limbs on her first—failed, she'd told him—attempt at inner peace. Rey rifling through book after book for the ingredients to a sleep spell to be tested on Master Luke. Rey, this, Rey, that–she was everywhere and from all sides all he could see was her, all he could  _feel_  was her.

He'd never felt so good in his entire life.


	9. Marked, You and I (Part I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys, Tearoomsalon is such an awesome writer. AWESOME. Give "Gilded" a read. It's so fucking AWESOME.

_This is hardly a conducive environment to hold a conversation._ He mumbled against the door because it  _wasn't._ Butshe had the  _audacity_  to laugh at his misfortune. Talking to Rey with her mouth so close to his whiskers was one thing, and having to be isolated in a place with her in a  _tub_  where Humans laid inside for nice warm baths was  _another_. 

Why had he allowed this to happen? Oh, he remembered all too well the set of decisions he made when he agreed to whatever it was she'd tricked him into. They ate dinner in silence after the moment they had on the counter. Rey had neatly settled on a chair and fixed herself a salad from some of the food items her new friend had given her. Kylo Ren did not understand the Human fascination for leaves, so he'd injected the look he gave her plate with as much disdain as he could muster. He knew Rey was past the point of being offended. Ironically, acting like a cat made her want to touch him more—rub his ear, slide the back of her hand against his cheek, soothe circles under his chin—but it also made her want to tease him for  _being_  a cat and it would just become an infuriating cycle. 

In hindsight, he should have known she was planning something when she'd laughed at him as she shook her curls lose at the stiffened silence he gave her. Should have dipped deeper into her mind when she'd gone unnervingly quiet. But she was stronger now, thanks to him, and, admittedly, he was proud if not a little frustrated that he had to be at the receiving end of her skills training. Again. In hindsight, he should have known that the airy giggles she let out was ultimately going to mean something he would—not _entirely_ , screamed a voice in the back of his mind he _desperately_ ignored—eventually come to regret. By the time her feet settled against the soft rug of her bathroom, it was already too late. She'd plonked him on the tiles and disrobed without preamble, laughing when all he did was press his forehead against her door in frustration. 

Her clothes lay beside his front paws, mocking him, and he didn't care if it was so  _incredibly_  cat-like, he scratched at the door to be let out. Rey didn't like her things destroyed, it seemed, no Human did, their fascination with material belonging was also something he didn't understand. She cast a petrifying spell on him when he didn't stop. 

The spell was short-lived, she just held him in place long enough to make him stop clawing his way out at the door. So his next move was to simply  _ignore_  everything in the bathroom. Ignore the soft candlelit space, ignore the ambrosial fragrance in the bathwater, ignore her attempts at a conversation, ignore, _ignore_. But it was getting really _hard_. She was singing against the bubbles when he peeked one eye in her direction. The suds nearly covered the other side of her face, an engorged cluster of small bubbles, the candles casting a soft orange glow on her skin. 

Everything was warm and humid in the space. He cast a quick glance against the tiles before darting his eyes carefully to the way one slim leg rose out of the water to pop at an errant bubble floating away from the herd. It popped soundlessly but she giggled nonetheless. 

It was  _ridiculous_. He thought. Reduced to an onlooker at a woman in a pool of hot water. Wasn't this indecent? Weren't Humans sticklers for things like decency and socially acceptable principles? Weren't they breaking some sort of rule that guided how things should _be_? And why was she reaching a hand out from the tub and—

 _Rey_ , he struggled against her grip. He floated towards her outstretched hand with ease, like each inch he gets closer to her created no ripple of doubt in her mind.  _This is ridiculous_ , he repeated to himself. But Rey had already seemed past the point of caring. Mercifully, she let him land on the toilet lid and let his body go. He made a move to jump back down and face the door again. She'd snapped her fingers in response and froze him again, giving him a scalding stare. Her eyes were daggers, warning him that if he moved, she would just do it over and over again until he stayed still. So he conceded defeat. After a deep sigh. A  _very_  deep sigh. 

She closed her eyes and dipped in the warm water, soaking strands of her hair at the roots, and giving a light flush against her cheeks. When she re-emerged, he caught a glimpse of her as the spumes settled against her chest. 

In the Underworld, Demons as powerful as he desired Human contact beyond what he deemed appropriate. Human contact almost always just constituted a brief exchange of words and a handshake on a deal. Some others preferred a more physical tactic, some that required a strenuous amount of time allotted solely for pretension. These Demons took great pride in bringing certain humans to a point where the fine lines of decency blurred and spawned sins irredeemable during childbirth, when children of the Underworld find their way up in the mortal realm. 

Those Demons, the kind that Kylo Ren most definitely _wasn't_ and won't ever be, would have bargained to take his place if they had the chance. For a Human woman was laying herself bare before his eyes and he realized with a quiet sense of dread that this.. didn't seem entirely wrong. Rey sensed the slow calm of Kylo's frantic mind and then called for him from the solace of her warm bath. 

He tensed immediately at the way her lilting voice reverberated within the enclosed space. The syllables of his name never sounded quite so.. endearing. 

His head whipped towards the closed door, frowning at the decision to stay on the toilet lid. Bazine might come back, right? She might? And Rey was in a tub, as naked as the day she was born, open, limbs and flesh dipped in warm water, flushed, and supple. What would they do if Bazine suddenly came floating in? And it was night? How would Kylo be able to protect Rey from her? 

"Kylo," she called again. He cursed himself when he'd flashed his eyes too quickly at the sound of her voice. She had moved slowly toward the ledge, lifting two slender arms to rest the side of her cheek against them. Her eyes were mellow, and in the orange light, appeared to look and feel deeper. Kylo Ren suddenly forgot all about Bazine. How was he even  _thinking_  when she looked at him like that? 

 _Yes?_ He asked tentatively. There it was again, the fast back and forth in her mind. She was going to ask something soon, something he won't entirely be inclined on answering. But he doubted trying to hide anything from her again would satisfy her, not after the incident with Bazine. So reluctantly— _very_  reluctantly, but he was still trying—he lifted the veil from his shrouded thoughts. Her presence was instant, slotting between the jagged ends of his mind. It settled fast, like it followed the paths and crevices between his thoughts for a thousand years. 

He braced himself for what she might say. 

"Who is Kylo Ren?" She'd asked it without preface, but he could feel the weight of the question. Her eyes were searching, moving from side to side, alternating between his golden eyes, not wanting to miss a moment. He felt the focus she was giving him, how important this one question was for her. And strangely, how important it was for him, too. 

 _He is.. a Demon_. He answered. He tried to inject humor in his response. He failed spectacularly.

"Okay," she said. "What about something Rey doesn't know?"

 _Rey doesn't know a lot about Kylo Ren._  He followed, the tenseness in the air gradually subsiding. Kylo inhaled the scent of the candles—lavender. Rey seemed to love lavender, he mused. The bathwater was a rich mix of orange peels and coconut oil, and something else that was unmistakably Rey. He shivered. 

"Then it's Kylo Ren's job to do something about it." She quipped, dipping a hand in the water and lifting it up to whisk water at his face. She giggled when his eyes flew closed and the sound was amplified in the space. 

 _Is it really necessary for Kylo Ren to do this?_ He asked. 

"He knows it is." She declared. "Doesn't he?"

He didn't find it within him to disagree.  _He does. Why don't you ask him?_

Her eyebrow shot up and a smile sliced her lips in the middle, a soft swell of flesh against her freckled face. He smiled. He loved her freckles. "Are you sure about that?" She asked, slipping her arms back inside the water. She moved nimble and fast and soon the back of her head was pressed on the wall on the other end of the tub, so that when she reached out even just a little, her wet fingers would find their way on his dark fur. 

He conveniently snubbed this piece of information.  _Yes_. 

"You want me," her head turned to him. "To ask you what I want to know instead of willingly telling me?" 

He gave a light shrug.  _There is too much to tell._

She nodded, drawing circles absently against the water. 

_Too little time._

She laughed at that, and boy did he love it when she did that. A few strands of her hair fell from the hasty bun when she shook her head. "You do know that having me ask you is a little.. dangerous, don't you?" 

_I can handle anything you throw my way._

She mimicked the way he swiped his claws, her slim fingers stretched to crook at the end. She hissed, too, and the low rumble he sent her head was laughter he didn't bother to hide. She pouted. 

_I can scratch you, if that's what you want. But I doubt that anything you ask me would border on dangerous. I am ready for your inquiry._

He was nervous. The stretch of skin against her neck when she craned her head wasn't helping. 

"Okay," she said quietly. "Promise you won't walk out on me." 

Her eyes were stern and hopeful. How could he say no?  _I promise_.

She took a deep sigh, readying herself. The action lifted her shoulder and bobbed her breasts lazily under the water. Her collarbones pressed against her skin as she tried to think. But Kylo wasn't thinking at all. Thinking was  _hard_. 

After a few minutes of thoughtfully staring at the opposite wall and passing her fingers across the flame of a lit candle by her shoulder, she spoke against the dim room. 

"How did you become a Demon?" 

The question caught him off guard. His mind stilled for a long moment, long enough for Rey to look back at him with concern etched on every lovely plane of her face. She reached out to pet the side of his face out of instinct but he wasn't moving. The question brought with it a thick feeling of guilt and anger, frustration twisting into regret, regret weaving into fury, fury growing into hate. His mind was suddenly a whirlwind of emotion. But she was there, shouting above the storm in his mind. 

"Kylo," her voice was soft, her arm suddenly across his chest. Her other hand landed on the other side of his body and soon she was dragging him close, whispering his name desperately, trying to bring him back. 

"Kylo," she repeated, voice barely above a whisper. She pressed him against her bare chest, half his hip submerged in the lukewarm water. Her hands were soothing circles all along his body, one arm curled around his backside. "Kylo," she whimpered helplessly. "Kylo, I'm here, please come back to me."

There was darkness in his mind, the kind he wasn't used to. Then the image of a man, beard white and skin wrinkled, gruff and with a high, asymmetrical nose. Then a forest, in the night, in the middle of the pouring rain. Another man, old and with stark blue eyes, flashed with worry and pain and hurt. So much hurt. He barely noticed the gasp that she released but didn't have the energy to fortify his defenses nor keep her out. He knew she recognized the other face within the memory, the intricate braid and the warm brown eyes. There was one other figure, blacker than the blackest night. But the people around him didn't see it, only he did, and he was weak to the dark figure's bidding. He recognized the anger he had that moment, the fresh pulse of rage that coursed through his veins, the feel of his power crackling between his fingertips. 

And then lightning. It wasn't from the sky. It was from him, from the tips of his fingers. There was laughter, too, floating about in his head, egging him on,  _fueling_  him. The man before him, with his old jacket, and his old face, fell forward, on his knees, eyes welling with tears and affection. He saw it, suddenly remembered how clear it was, how clear it had been, how real it was once upon a time. He couldn't escape it. He would  _never_  escape it. And now she saw it, too, as she stood there in the middle of it all, gaping. 

He turned away, physically twisted his body out of her grasp. But she kept him close, she held him as they rode out the horror. Despite the gashes he left on her chest when he whimpered, begged to be let go, she held him, despite the anger he pressed down on her mind, the contempt. She was immovable and soft and warm around him. And welcome. Oh so welcome, as she chased the memories away, engulfed him in her light, held him tight in the tepid water. When he opened his eyes, she was there, breathing against his whiskers, eyes focused on him. 

He traced the freckles on her face, followed the slope of her cheeks, drank in the suppleness of her lips, and confessed his darkest sin. 

 _I killed him._  His voice cracked. _I killed my father, Rey. I killed him.. to acquire immeasurable power. I killed him to become a Demon._

Her fingers tightened around his body, the firm press of her gashed chest barely registered to him. All he could see were eyes, eyes that only yearned to love him, once upon a time, now dead from his own hand. 

Rey sat silently in the tub, fingertips pruning. At some point, Rey stood up and left the bathroom. She strode inside her bedroom, soundlessly pulling a robe around herself. She settled in the middle of the bed, and continued cradling him, tucking him against her chest. Half his cat body was still damp, but she kept him close. The slickness of her neck started to alleviate the tremors in his being, the thump of her heart against his hind legs made him finally look up to her face. Her hair fell in wet tendrils against the bedsheets, leaving water stains, but the delicate touch of her mind in his brought him peace and calm. 

"Kylo," she whispered after a while. The sound of her voice made him flinch. He forced himself to break away from her. She wouldn't let go. So he scratched her wrist. Her eyes filled with pain as he hastily jumped up the bean bag. 

"Kylo," she called again.

 _You should have never asked._ Hurt. It was all he was feeling. And fear. Fear of losing her to this. To the truth of his dark origin. 

"I wanted to know—"

_Why, Rey? Why would you want to know who I am? What does it mean?_

"Because you're special to me, too, Kylo."

He turned his head towards the closed window and refused to look at her. 

"You always have been. Don't you see that?"

_You're lying._

"Look into my head, Kylo. Look into my head and see that I'm telling the truth. Or are you too afraid? Are you too afraid to see yourself so clearly inside my head? Are you afraid of what you are to me?—"

 _YES!_ He whipped his attention back to her. She was trembling, breath hitching, looking at him with the most pained expression he'd ever seen.  _I'm afraid because I don't belong in your head. I don't belong with you. I don't belong anywhere. My sins are irredeemable, my existence is a mess. I don't belong with you._

"That's not true!" She was on her feet in a flash, moving her arm in a wide arc that screamed at him, no. _No_. "You know it's not."

How could he possibly believe her? She'd seen it, hadn't she? She'd recognized her master, she'd recognized his mother, and the pieces fell together when he admitted. 

 _Look me in the eye and tell me you don't think I'm a monster, Rey. Do it._ He was daring her with everything he had, risking everything they shared over the past few months in exchange for the truth. 

"You're not a monster. Not to me." It was a small sound, a small, dejected whisper that was honest and stupid to his ears. 

_How can you say that?_

"Because I know who you are now. That's not you anymore." Her hands fisted against the sides of her robe, her tears streaming down freely. The skin of her neck was exposed to him. The gashes he left her dripped with blood and soaked past the cotton of her robe. Her hair was in disarray, wet and wild, but her eyes reflected nothing but a truth she desperately clung to, hoping he'd do the same—praying he'd do the same. "Kylo, when I got kicked out of the Academy, I was aimless. The night that I met you, I was so ready to leave anything that reminded me of the life I used to live. You reminded me of so much, you reminded me of  _everything_. But you also made me  _want_  to remember. Somehow, you wormed your way so easily into my mind, fell in step behind me and saw me at my weakest and I know that should have pained me. It should have pained me to want someone to know and understand me so well—as well as you did. But I let it happen. I let it go. I kept the bond open because suddenly, with you here, I don't need to keep everything hidden from people who would never understand."

The effort to not choke a sob finally broke, and the words came spilling out of her mouth uncontrolled. Shivers racked her body throughout her confession. She needed him to see what this was doing to her, what he was selfishly trying to ignore. 

"You saved me, Kylo, even when I didn't know I needed saving. I want to know you, Kylo because I wanted to understand you the way you understood me." She slumped forward on her knees on the floorboards. 

He stared at her in disbelief, eyes unblinking. His limbs were tense and protesting for him to move. He couldn't. He'd sat still throughout the length of her breakdown. He moved after a while, running towards her, leaping up her lap, searching her eyes. He broadcasted his regret through the bond, nuzzling her close as the elastic tug squeezed their souls together. 

They had broken for each other, they had fought, they had shared things they would never share to others, but still Kylo pushed her away. He let her in only because it was convenient, not because he truly wanted to, he knew this now, and the gashes against her chest, the angry red parallel lines marring her freckled skin, the matching set etched in her wrist, told him just how trying to keep her at bay only brought her pain. So he was deciding tonight, as his head laid against her chest, that he would never do anything to hurt her again. 

The robe had fallen past her shoulders. She had forgotten the state of her wrist, her fingers had dug deep creases against her palms, her cheeks stained with the path of her tears. All because of him. 

He took in the sight of her, legs unnaturally folded in an awkward angle beneath him, and pressed their foreheads together. This time, he didn't try to gingerly open his mind up to her. He let her do it. She held his thoughts and memories carefully in her warm hands, watching it play out in front of her as if it were her own, and then he found relief. The tension lifted and the bond provided a solace for them both. He breathed words within the bond that pulled her skin back together, wisps of gold and white putting cells and tissues back in their places in a dizzying dance. 

Silence. She started to speak. "It's Wednesday. I'll keep watch for tonight." 

He was about to protest but then she smiled. "Wanna stay up with me?" 

* * *

 

The biting cold made her hair stand on end, she hoped she'd grabbed her scarf before Kylo pushed her out of the windowsill and out the chilled twilight air. She landed on her knee, scraping her shin against the sidewalk and stumbling forward. It stung a little but she ignored it. There was no time for that. Kylo bolted after the black energy floating about down the streets. A few onlookers witnessed the chase, she fixed this by waving her arm in a wide arc, effectively erasing the memory.

Quickly, she cloaked both her and Kylo from the curious eyes of the people around them and ran in the direction Kylo had bounded off to. She found him a couple of blocks down, felt the tremor of his energy signature storming in a dark alley. The black energy took on the form of a Human male, with a dusty blonde buzzcut and weeping blood red eyes. Kylo was choking him, pacing in front of him with his back arced up. She leaned back against the adjacent wall, heaving, across the pretend Human figure of the lesser demon they had detected only moments earlier on the fire escape stairs just minutes after Rey came home from work.

 _Who sent you?_ Kylo growled inside the demon's head so loudly it seemed like he was really voicing it out. The demon lifted his head lazily, rotting from the inside of his mouth out, veins darkening and skin turning into a sickening gray. Rey felt anger rise in her throat and when the demon's back slammed against the brick wall, it was because she'd lifted him off it to push him back painfully on his spine. 

"Why are you here?" She spat, standing calm but stewing behind Kylo Ren. The demon showed no signs of fear. 

"The Torch shall not extinguish." 

She slammed him again on the brick wall as Kylo's hold on his neck tightened. The rotting wasn't from either of their efforts. It was a sort of self-destruct setting. He wasn't a vessel, but he sure as hell could have been. He wasn't stealthy or intelligent with his infiltration tactic. 

"Did Hux send you?" Rey's brown eyes were rimming with red, now, threatening to engulf her whole with anger. She didn't succumb just yet. They needed him to talk. It wouldn't help to kill him. The demon's response was a spit against the pavement and this time, Kylo Ren pressed sliced against the man's mind. It took her a while to understand what the action was for, but when she realized it, the demon's unnatural eyes, now the shade of ash, she took a physical step back. 

Kylo Ren was breaking his tiny horns by sheer force. In this form, it was invisible, but Kylo saw it just as clearly. The air crackled with the lesser demon's agonized cries, but Kylo wasn't stopping. She didn't try to stop him. He was drawing out his death, filling his body with pain until he begged and started truly giving them an answer. 

"Were," she ground out. "You.. sent.. by.. Hux?" She shrieked the demon's name towards the end, the shrillness in her voice reminded him of Bazine. But it wasn't entirely the same, hers had that lilting tune to it, like a soft strum against the strings of a harp. 

"I won’t—answer to you," he croaked, choking, the gray of his rotting flesh reaching down his neck. From where Kylo was holding his neck, it cracked, skin becoming a dry shell. He kept him in place still, tighter now since he was slipping. 

" _Who_?" She was angry. It was no use fighting her anger when it reared its ugly head out. She always took it when it came and used the power it gave her, the euphoria of being able to channel all that strength. She felt Kylo share in her euphoria and she realized that he was drawing power from her, too, using her anger to fuel his actions. 

The demon's eyes were nearly rolling back into his head, the decay accelerating down past his elbows. The crunch of his bones bounced off against the walls. "There is.. a price on your head. Everyone.. wants you.. dead." 

The decay moved past his fingers and ran down the length of his legs. Rey pilfered inside the demon's head and watched it crumble. He was telling the truth. The scenes that played out in his head depicted other demons, floating energies filled with darkness roaming around the streets looking for her. Kylo was seeing it, too, because it wasn't long before he was growling inside her head. The demon completely vanished once Kylo released him, vanishing in thin air as if it wasn't there.

“This is Hux’s doing.”

 _Of course it is. That's the fifth attack this week_. He glowered against the ground, pacing impatiently, thinking with each angry stride.  _And still no Bazine. Where is she?_

"She's planning something," that was the rage speaking within her. She wished she could have incited more pain within the demon's body to make him talk, she wished they'd been able to draw out his suffering longer. "What do you think it might be?"

Kylo shook his head, stalking out of the alleyway. They walked briskly into the relative warmth of her apartment. Once there, Kylo allowed himself to talk again. 

 _Bazine is dangerous._  He grumbled.  _Is there anyone suspicious from your work? Finn? Poe? Had they been vesseled?_

He didn't bother to see if that had offended her because he knew it didn't. Rey worried her bottom lip. "No. I doubt Bazine is that foolish."

He agreed with her. He knew Bazine. She might have intruded Rey's house that one morning, knowing full well she wasn't at full power in the daylight, but she intended the move to scare, to threaten the trust they had built over time. Well, she failed at that, but that didn’t mean they could relax.  _What do you think she's planning?_

"I don't know," she concluded angrily. The air between them was charged with agitation and fury. "But she'll come back. And when she does, we'll be ready for her."

 

* * *

 

 

Bazine didn't come back. 

It had been weeks now, two weeks since the attack. Two weeks of  _no Bazine_. They'd cast strong enough protection spells together, drew pentagrams and meditated and communed with both dark and light magicks. They practiced, too, sparred with magic, took turns guarding, kept watch when they were outside. Even flipped through pages of Quinlan Vos’ spell book for something they could use. Kylo scouted all around Rey's community when she was away from work, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. But nothing clued him in to any sort of impending threat. They'd opened their senses wider, too, taking in a lot more in their heads than what they had been used to. Rey had a nightmare the first time they kept their minds open for a wider range of people who might be threats, and Kylo cursed himself when she recounted a near-fatal dream experience that wasn't hers to begin with.

He'd convinced her that it wasn't required that she do this, too, if the nightmares were anything to go by. But she was stubborn. It was like talking to a brick wall. She'd brushed him off the first night, saying she could handle it. She had more nightmares after that night, but they'd lessened in intensity over time, and soon she was as well adjusted to her surroundings as he was. They took every precautionary measure, scanned every Human they came across that was anywhere near suspicious, only to come up empty. 

The lesser demons kept coming and they were so easy to dispose off that neither Kylo nor Rey batted an eyelash. They'd still pilfer and tear their energies apart to get them to talk but nothing proved helpful. When they'd ask who sent them, they would always say the same thing.  _The Torch shall not extinguish,_ it always began.  _There is a price on your head. Everyone is out to get you. Everyone wants you dead._ They'd tried another tactic after the 9th attack, the second one in a single night, and asked, instead if Bazine had anything to do with it. Some demons expressed distaste at the mere mention of the name, others denied, others had tilted their humanoid heads questioningly, and others didn't survive long enough to answer. They were getting nowhere. They were on edge. 

_Where. Was. She?_

 

* * *

 

 

The Human world layered over her pulse in the energy around him but he found her nonetheless. It does that, he told himself, she'd been banished to this Realm for at least two standard years. Maybe she wasn't beating like a small beacon of light in his head because she had been absorbed in the orbit and the system of the mortals. Humans were, after all, easy to mimic. They were transparent in their principles and methods, even broadcasting it all across their world because most of the world agreed with them.

Or maybe it was because his nephew's signature was mingling with hers in a fiery dance that he couldn't tell which was which. Rey had always been a feisty Witch, hasty in her decisions and given to bursts of anger. 

He'd taken a chance at teaching her, even though she'd held qualities that were too familiar to him. Something he associated with the dark, looming energy of his nephew. He was all around her, too, in her head and in her veins, like they'd bonded not only metaphysically. Their reach extended wider, too, and a hint of black frayed the edges of the radar. It was his nephew's magic. His body tensed, his hand shooting up to scratch his scruffy beard. When he exhaled, it was shaky and heavy. 

They were in some sort of trouble. They were casting big enough nets to catch the culprits. Even now, from where he was, he could feel how on edge they were. How it was like seeing them stare down from the edge of a cliff, waiting for something that might swoop in and bending backwards to fortify each other's defense. They know, then, he concluded. They know of their intertwined destinies. By this time, they had occupied the cracks in each other's brain freely, an odd combination of light and darkness, not clashing, but complimenting, moving in a strange song. 

He let his feet follow that song, let it lull him to take a turn here and there and each time, the exquisite balance of them together led him closer. One step after the other and suddenly, Kylo Ren's signature brushed against his, eliciting a sharp jolt from him. It throws his blood in a frenzy. But the panic was not entirely his. They were more connected now, it seemed, and while Kylo was confused, Rey felt mortified. 

The prophecy rang true. Nothing could be done. They were caught in each other's orbit. The song pulled him closer, even though they tried to cloak themselves, he was far stronger. He heeded the High Principal's advice to make haste, and Luke Skywalker would deliver. 

 

* * *

 

 

She listened to the steady hum of her head as she sifted flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl. Finn had been gracious enough to lend her some baking materials from the coffee shop for her little pet project. Literally, she mused, smiling as she gave the bowl a light shake. She let the domesticity of baking at home lull her into a silence that was uncharacteristic of her rigid existence. She'd never baked at home before but Kylo had been an utter mess lately, jumping from nights of elongated silence, to agitated restlessness. Some nights, he'd dip his head between the juncture of her neck and shoulder in silence, others, he'd sit on the bean bag all morning, paralyzed and unmoving until she came back to him at night, meowing for food. 

It would have bothered her that he was such an on and off kind of creature but she could barely find it within herself to complain. When he'd felt Luke Skywalker at least two days ago, he'd been a frenetic mess of memories and ideals. He had no control over the spill-over of his emotions towards her waiting mind, of course, and she'd woken up panting many nights from _his_ dreams. He was still consumed in his regret. The anger was there, too, standing briskly beside his anger, telling him it was necessary and that at the moment, it was right. He had what he wanted now. Rey didn't know what to make of that, so she left him with his thoughts, or, at least never commented on it otherwise. 

Kylo Ren strode in the kitchen carefully, eyeing her movements, investigating what all the fuss was about. She added the butter in and slotted the little bowl under the mixer and pressed. So he'd decided to finally break his silence. His eyes instantly caught in the hypnotic whir of the mixer around Rey's dry ingredients, the dust inside looking like chocolate colored rubble. She watched him from where half her backside was sitting on the lip of the counter. He had that deer-in-headlights type of gaze whenever Human things stilled him in his tracks. 

His back was slender and slow-moving, like a small ripple in the sea, his shoulders jutting forward when his pads stepped forward, one after the other. She hadn't noticed just how heavy his steps seemed since he barely made any sounds inside the apartment. There was a heaviness to it she'd only managed to see now. Perhaps the feline equivalent of stomping. 

She wondered absently about the boy in the library that night, how he'd been so at ease with showing her that specific memory when he'd shut down completely when all she did was ask him. His demon form flitted in her mind, too, a more stark and gigantic imagination, seemingly too big for her mind.

She thought about transforming him back to his original form. Could she do it? That was the only question in her mind. It wasn't a question of _would_ she. Because she would. 

Would that help him deal with Luke any better? When he was more confident in his most powerful form? 

"Can't I just.. transform you back to your original form?" She couldn't help it, it just slipped past her lips. She pressed the mixer off and sequestered her bowl back to the table, turning towards her cupboards to find a smaller bowl. 

His answer came slowly but firmly enough, the bones in his shoulder canting forward lightly in what must be laughter.  _You can't._

The smaller bowl was filled with a mixture of different liquids Kylo had smelt before, but not in such an ostentatious mixture. Rey hummed as she tapped the slender metal of a teaspoon against the rim of the bowl. A liquid substance the color of oak swirled within the bowl. Kylo stared at it blankly. 

"Why not?" She asked, pouring the mixture with the little crumbs. "I'm stronger now." 

Rey said it so matter-of-factly that he almost believed that maybe she could. But that was impossible. She stirred all of the different scents and textures together with a spatula, and then set it back to the mixer. The Supreme Leader might have been a stickler to the rules that now govern the demon realms, but when his children disobey, he lords over them and gives adequate punishments. 

 _You are,_  he admitted. Another bowl, one he hadn't noticed right away, was filled with a runny transparent gel-like substance with bright yellow circles. She was purposefully ignoring his curiosity, more interested in the slow start of a conversation. Finally he was talking again. 

 _But you can't. The Supreme Leader is my punisher, the one who subjugated me in this form. Only he can undo it._ The runny yellow orbs followed the mixture, the little whisk still moving about with a low electric treble. Rey pouted, staring into the bowl. 

"Bummer." She said, fishing a cake mold from what looked like a canvas bag sitting on the slope of one of her chairs. She set them down the table, two identical circles that dipped in the middle. He sniffed tentatively at them. 

Her hands wrapped around the metal-like material it was made of and started greasing the base.  _Why did you ask?_  He hummed thoughtfully in her head. She smiled as she put a parchment over the slippery bottom and then did the same on top of the parchment. Layering it with a dark brown dust that smelt strong and appetizing. 

"Maybe if I could change you back to your original form, it would help you deal with your uncle better." She didn't find his sigh surprising. She touched their bond instead and sent a message.  _You're not walking out of this one._

In the silence that followed her sharp precaution, she allowed herself to try and imagine his young face into the deep rumble of his voice, now, a constant warm static in her mind. But it was hard when the phantom of a voice sprouted from a black domestic cat with the intensity of a glare of a thousand suns. 

 _I know._ He sighed. He hadn't been planning, too. The moment she said it, though, she knew the thought of just leaving the conversation would rise up in his head. She'd shooed it away confidently. She had the authority to say it, too, just like that, in the snap of a finger. He'd given it to her the moment he'd confessed the darkness that moves within him and where it had come from.  

She took the bowl from the mixer and poured the thick brown material evenly between the two pans.  _But I doubt an enormous,, iron-plated demon would help me any better than this form. I don't want him to think that I'd eat him._

"Yeah," she lifted the mold and slammed it back down against the table lightly. Kylo watched as bubbles rose from the creamy thickness of—chocolate, she thought through the bond, answering his question. "About that eating bit. Don't demons eat humans?"

She held a small handle beneath the stove and opened the oven to slide the pans inside. He frowned before she could get back up to her feet to look at him.  _We don't eat humans. Do you honestly believe that?_

She shrugged, her hands worming their way inside her canvas bag once more. "Well, I've never had a demon roommate so I have no way of knowing." She poured little pieces of the same brown things that gave off the same strange musky strength of the brown powder he'd seen in the pan. "Until now." She added, talking above the little clacks of the brown things against the bottom of the bowl. 

 _We don't eat humans._ He repeated though she'd heard him supplement the answer seconds ago.  _They are not particularly scrumptious._  She turned to the stove and grabbed the handle of a small pot. Water poured in as she ran it down the faucet, spilling a water at the hem of her gray shirt. 

Humans believed the oddest things. 

"Then what do you eat?" She asked, moving the little—chocolate—things in a much bigger bowl, made out of a thin metal that produced louder noises when the brown contents dribbled down inside it. Her eyes were a little unfocused and foggy when she'd asked him, her focus, instead, lied with the task she was doing. It suddenly occurred to him to ask what it was exactly she was doing. Dread curled up within him if maybe her friends might be coming back again. But she was radiating a positive atmosphere all around her from preparing her bowls and mixing her things, surely this hadn't meant he'd have to sit through hours of conversations he didn't care about? 

She gleaned this from his mind and assured him that  _no, it's just for us, Kylo._ For  _us_. That sounded good to his ears. 

 _Souls_. He recalled wistfully. It had been a while since he'd scarfed down one. Or two. Or many. Depending on the harvest.  _When they are sold to us._

It didn't make her flinch or take a step back like he thought it would. Of course not. This was accepting, understanding Rey who stubbornly never let him leave her side even through the thick blackness that blanketed his past. She nodded mutely as she dipped one slender finger into the mixture. In the process of his recollection, she'd already managed to stir it and let it sit to cool down gradually. She popped the finger past her lips and sucked slowly, humming lightly. "Tastes good. You try." 

She dipped a finger inside again and brought a gooey brown drop close to his lips.  _That is food?_ He asked. 

"Mm-hm. Taste it." She urged. His tongue darted out tentatively, and the flavor burst a sweetness in his mouth that he had never tasted before. It tasted nothing like the potent energy within each soul he ingested, though replenishing, never tasted strangely different in a very good way. 

 _It's.. nice._ She laughed at his hesitation, the memory of her in the blue dress a small satisfactory image in his and her link. The subject of many instances of recollection on his end, it stood embarrassingly tall in the forefront of his mind. Thankfully, she never commented on it. 

"Yeah?" She smiled, stirring the goo with her spatula. Rey set the bowl aside and picked up a small rag to wipe the dining room table, and then lifted her hips up to sit at the table. Her ankles met in the middle as she stared into the oven. 

This had been the strange set up that they had fallen into after the incident of Kylo Ren's solemn admission. She had been a silent but welcoming presence whenever feelings of regret or self-loathing reared its ugly head inside his own. Her arms would wrap around him in response, and he no longer felt the need to frustrate himself for relishing in the feeling. Rey was still a chatty little thing, starting up conversations with him—on nights he usually kept watch—that was in no way intended to help him with his duty. In some instances, she even insisted on getting him in the tub to get him clean. She shouldn't have been too surprised when he declined. He'd bared himself for her so wholly in those shallow, bland waters, he did not want to relive it so soon. 

Her eyes fell back to him. The bond was still drawing out her curiosity from the last thing he'd said. He waited until she gave it voice. "Don't you, I don't know, run out of supply?" 

His mind drifted silently to the continuous onslaught of unsatisfied Human souls coursing through the thick haze of the Underworld.  _You'd be surprised just how many souls surrender to us. There is plenty to feed on._

Her lips tugged up in a half-smile, but her eyes were focused back on the oven. The dough was rising gently, stretching and filling the small containers with fluffy brown crumbs pulled together. 

"But what if, there isn't enough? Like, theoretically?" The question had come out distantly, an inquiry coming from a faraway place. He answered her anyway, as they both sat watching the pastry. 

 _Then we make them. We seduce and tempt them until they break._ The sharp ding from the oven jolts them out of the silence of their bond. Rey instantly shuffled to her feet, fetching what looked like a thick hand mitten and pulled the containers out of the heated space. Her hips moved in time with a song in her head again. It echoed in his mind, too, but the words weren't there. It was just a loose string of notes. She let the cake cool a little more as she reached out for him. 

 _Each time we succeed. Always._ Humans, though resilient they may be, were easily dissatisfied. It was an odd flow of balance; unhappy little Mortal dancing with the devil in exchange for something—there was always  _something_ —and thus, the demon gained sustenance. 

He gravitated towards her thoughtlessly, settling between her outstretched legs once she was back on the table. He thought little of it now, it had become commonplace. 

 _Is it terrifying?_  

She shrugged again, putting a single finger in the small hollow dip behind his ear and scratching lightly. "You do what you do to survive." 

 _Only we do not survive for food. We survive for war. We thrive on food. Food is plenty._ There was a domesticity to the way they were talking to each other that wasn't entirely unwelcome. Their conversation was light and irrelevant compared to the multitude of obstacles in their future. Still, they talked in the relative slowness of Rey's apartment, like they had been isolated from the world, out of orbit from a desolate star system. Like no threat was waiting just inches from their doorstep, or standing precariously off the fire escape stairs, or looming about in the hallways, all awaiting that perfect moment to strike. 

She lifted him up too soon to retrieve her cakes and move them to a wire rack. 

Her hands found a circle roughly the same size of the container and placed the cake on it with deft fingers. "Kylo," she picked up the spatula. 

"Were it up to you to decide, would you have told me the things you did that night?"

They both knew which night she was talking about.  _What do you mean?_

"If I had given you a choice," she heaved a small dollop of the brown goo on top of one cake. "Would you have told me those things out of your own volition?"

He took a moment to analyze himself at that inquiry. Would he? 

 _If I hadn't_ , he mused,  _You would have still done something for me to answer you._

She nodded, pressing the second cake on top of the other one and heaving a larger dollop on top of it. "I don't doubt it." He watched as she swirled the brown cream silently and suddenly felt hungry. 

"But if I didn't, would you still have said anything?" She moved the spatula to the side. "Even though you thought that it might make me fear you? Might make me push you away?"

This was a time she required honesty. So he relented. _I would have found a way to let our arrangement continue without your knowledge of my past. It is.. better that way_. 

"Do you still believe that?" 

 _I suppose not._ He blinked.  _Perhaps it had just been a new experience for me. We have exposed each other that night so much that the fine line between what is appropriate to voice out and what is inappropriate has blurred completely. Perhaps that was why I had been so averse._

"Well," she nodded, admiring the now fully frosted cake. Can cats eat cake? "Are you still averse now?"

 _I would be._ He decided that he was going to eat the cake anyway. Rey had apparently made it for him on account of his sour mood, from what he'd managed to glean inside her head.  _But it would be pointless to be averse now._

She sliced the cake once, transferring the triangular confection on a white porcelain plate. Her mind lapsed in a split second of euphoria when she took a bite and heaved a quiet sigh. It rang in his head like a silent song. "You have to try this." She said after a few bites, lips and cheeks stained with chocolate cream and crumbs. He laughed heartily at the picture before him. 

 _You are messy._ He tried to suppress it, but it came out uncontrollably as he kept looking at her, chocolate stained lips, dribbling down to her chin, cheeks puffed with the confection, and smelling of cocoa. Rey was messy in the fullest sense of the word, but she had been the best mess in his life. 

"When you taste it!" She yelled playfully, shoving a tablespoon of cake against his face lightly, leaving a goop of chocolate on his nose. He licked at it recalcitrantly, just to tease her for it, but her face was smug, one side of her lip pulled up in a taunting half-sm—

 _It is delicious._  He hummed within the bond. The ganache had been delicious when he licked it off her fingers before, now it was positively  _mouthwatering_  combined with the airiness of the cake and the moistness of the crumbs in his mouth. Cats can't eat this. But he wasn't entirely a cat. Demons had sweet tooths apparently. Or he did. Whatever. Rey had thrown an arm in the air in the process, going on about how she was sure he'd love it.

 _Does this confection have a name?_  He found himself asking, dropping restraint and making a beeline for the cake. 

"Hey!" But he was already shoving his head deeper into the cake, licking and nipping and hauling pieces of cake in his mouth, oblivious to Rey's protests. "It's called a Devil's Food Cake." She decided on saying, sitting on a chair and staring at him move his head beneath crumb and frosting. The bond was vibrating with his content. 

After a substantial amount of cake had gone, he finally lifted his head and ran his rough tongue from one side of his face to another. The frosting stayed on his face, though, coating his whiskers and sticking to his cheeks. A few drops of the frosting also stuck to his chest, catching in his fur when he shoveled down the food inside his mouth like a backhoe. 

Curiosity flared from his side into the bond as she watched him literally lick the crumbs off his paws. It made him look so incredibly Human, weren't he sitting on his hind legs. His molten golden eyes fixed on her when she laughed at the sight and pressed on her mind a question.  _Did you hex the cake?_

"What?" She sputtered, lurching forward, still laughing. 

 _Did you hex the cake?_  He said again, narrowly avoiding an urge that spiked in his mind to  _keep eating_. It was quickly becoming undignified. Surely the cake had been hexed at some point. Maybe that was the reason why Rey had been so talkative? 

"No, Kylo. I did not  _hex_  the cake." The words left her mouth in a long pitchy breath, pulling her syllables alongside her hearty laughter. His chuckled followed not long after. "I'm just a good cook. I have Finn to thank for that." 

 _Perhaps you are._  He was  _happy_  and that was strange to him. He experienced happiness with Rey. Talking to her, being bothered by her, eating with her, sleeping with her, guarding her, protecting her, fighting alongside her, heck, even now that his eyes followed the movements of her body, he was filled with a numbing euphoria, with a joy that always threatened to overflow and override his cognitive systems. Why had it take him so long to notice? Rey made him so happy that thinking was impossibly difficult even though it usually took him no energy at all. 

The cake was still looking positively divine. Especially when it was smeared across her cheeks. He moved without preamble, heading straight for her, and when she least expected it, so caught up in the victory that's rightfully hers, that he'd given her, he gave her a slow lick along with it, too, across her cheek. A little spark of something wormed its way inside her head—it was the little niche in his emotions that she had, too, now it was stubbornly showing itself. Her eyes were fixed on his, too, quick and fast and shifting between two golden orbs. The quickness didn't reach her mind, she was making poor conclusions and hasty connections, sloppy and messy and–

 _Rey_ , the whisper of her name made him shiver.  _Rey, I—_

The blunt 'dong' of the doorbell sliced past Kylo's voice and tore them apart, Rey fell backwards on the seat and Kylo shot at least two feet in the air. Before he could stop himself, he'd automatically switched to offensive, crouching his torso low and coiling his hind legs behind him, ready to pounce. Rey was quick to scramble on her bare feet, spreading her legs, stretching one hand forward and keeping the other tucked close to her chest, posed for a fistfight. The doorbell continued even when they broke apart. And then it stopped.

Kylo catapulted himself into the creature's mind head first, confusion rolling within him upon the discovery of the creature's well-constructed mental barriers. But that didn't surprise him as much as the creatures' laughter did. A gruff, wheezing type of laughter he remembered all too well. Rey blinked, hearing the laughter through the door herself, but stayed in the position. Bazine could be that creature and they weren't taking any chances. 

Kylo opened the door first, fishing the more hard-hitting spells and putting them forward to summon once the enemy got any closer, never mind that most of them originated from dark magic. He wasn't going to let anyone destroy his and Rey's living space. 

The door creaked when it budged, slamming so harshly against the adjacent wall that its whole frame shook, the tremble perilously pulling up the hinges. Kylo stood ready with Rey beside him and then—

"Well this is new." Luke Skywalker said, pushing his brown hood back to reveal a face consumed by age. 


	10. Marked, You and I (Part II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Love, we are between worlds, between  
>  unfathomed water and I don’t know how much  
>  light-flecked black sky, the fogged circles  
>  of island lamps.” -Night Ferry, Mark Doty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> I have reservations about this chapter. Quite a lot, and if I'm being honest, it's mostly because I'm not sure if y'all would like what it is I'm continuing to do. ((Hopefully, you guys still do *crosses fingers*)) The prose/poetry verse idea for the summary, wow. That's a very recent idea I had. Not each chapter will have one. But if I do decide to continue it, quick survey: Would you guys like it if I put some for the earlier chapters or just the chapters going forward?

_Show yourself._ Kylo hissed, stalking before Rey dangerously, claws drawn. The man looked confused, moving his head, instead, down the long hallway, looking left and right for something. 

Rey was fire being stoked beside Kylo Ren, ready to blaze, as she spit out his words. "Show yourself or we attack!" 

"Whoa! Hey! Hey! Rey, it's me! Master Luke!" Luke replied hastily, putting both hands up in surrender. 

 _Prove it._ Kylo contested. 

  
"I'm not sure you're going to like it when I do." It was a playful jab inlaid with something far heavier, perhaps the reason for this visit. But Kylo and Rey were still apprehensive, exchanging furtive glances and conversing in their heads. Luke watched the scene before him with small bloom of pride, though he wasn't sure whose of the two the feeling sprouted from. Perhaps both. 

"Okay, since you asked, fine." He sighed, bringing his arms down carefully back to his side. If they were going to have to trust him, they need to see he wasn't hostile. 

"Do I need to stay in the hallway?" He asked warily when a middle-aged lady eyed the commotion carefully as she emerged from two doors down the hall. 

"Yes." Rey and Kylo said in unison. 

Luke sighed. "Fine. My name is Luke Skywalker, I am a Grand Master of Witchcraft from the Witching Academy and am now standing on your doorstep upon the advice of Grand High Principal Maz Kanata, Headmistress of the Witching Academy—"

_Too easy._

"—I had mentored Rey ever since I realized she was a purebred, the very first time I saw her at the House of Jakku, and have trained her for 10 years before Grand High Principal Maz and the Witching Council exiled her to the Mortal Realm as punishment for her innumerable reckless decisions—"

"How do we know you're not Bazine?" Rey blurted out. 

In truth, the whole ordeal was hilarious to Luke. They had been taking precautions that much was sure, but he was also considering trying to humor them a little, give them a little more reason to believe him and have fun in the process. Really. He'd been there on both occasions when they had been growing up. 

"Because," he began, "I know that Rey is very fond of the Witching Academy library. To demonstrate this fixation, she once climbed up at least five flights of stairs in a flurry for a forbidden book that carried the ingredients needed for a forbidden love spell. Which she had been intent on using on Donno Graham, a young wizard with the abili—"

 _"Stop!"_ The furious blush that found its way onto Rey's face and down past her neck screamed his victory. Her stance softened. Even Kylo Ren's shoulders shook lose. The unsettled hum of his mind stayed, though, but Luke knew it wasn't from what had just transpired. 

"And you, young man, have once built a canoe to test within the rivers that surrounded your mother's house in attempt to breach the tight security. They caught you, of course—"

 _Skywalker_ , Kylo ground out, fangs pushing past lips. 

"Now can I come in?" He grinned, couldn't quite keep the triumph out of his voice. The two exchanged glances again, arguing about something mentally if any of their subtle facial cues were anything to go by. He'd shared some of these silent conversations with Rey once, now she was more attuned to Kylo Ren. He allowed himself a secret smile before Kylo nodded reluctantly at him. 

 

* * *

 

 

Kylo Ren stared at a spot on Rey's floor, a shallow hole stared back at him, empty and clean. Everything in Rey's house was clean. Except for the kitchen now, where they had eaten her cake. Cake that was now on a plate in the hands of his  _uncle_. He had no particular qualms at the mention of Grand High Principal Maz. Maz always made sense to him even as he was a boy of eight and already too interested in things he didn't completely understand. He understood Maz, way more than he did from anyone within that Realm where he had been born a being he would soon come to despise.

Luke's eyes were pressed closed, the same wave of euphoria rippling out of him and obnoxiously brushing into his mind. Had he been younger, he'd have laughed at the sight. Luke Skywalker had been too cheerful for his own good, even when there wasn't anything particularly joyous in the turn of events. 

Rey had been a far better host than he had been, of course. Though the first time Luke finally stepped past the threshold, a dam of pent up sadness was threatening to break out of the seams within her, he'd managed to coax it out of her and just let it be. She allowed him to decide in the end, and went with the selfless decision, the one he didn't like but the one she needed. 

He had let him in. 

"Mhh! This is good, Rey! Why have you never cooked in the Academy? I'm getting very tired of yeast-less bread and stew." He shoved a spoon in his mouth, oblivious that Kylo was staring holes into his face. It wasn't literal. But he could do it. 

Rey's responses were still slightly stilted, short and final. "Thank you.. Master." Kylo tried to bear down pure acidic jealousy at the honorific. He was technically under no circumstances allowed to contest that. Beings within the Realms were big on hierarchy. 

"Will I be granted access should I decide to come back for a visit?" He hunched over to place the dirty cutlery on the coffee table. 

 _Cut to the chase_. Kylo cut off angrily. Beside him, Rey turned her hazel brown eyes at him but didn't flinch or say anything. She was expectant, too. Of course. He'd been right. Letting Luke in had been more for her sake than his. 

Luke settled against the couch, pressing his back on the sofa cushions and letting out a deep, troubled sigh. The sound reminded Kylo of the very same noise he made whenever he would come home during his youth in his mother's house with game—a dead rabbit, or a small fox, even when hunting the animals was strictly forbidden. 

When he finally spoke, his humor had completely gone. "I suppose you are both aware of the prophecy."

Rey glanced at Kylo briefly, and nodded towards Luke. "Yes. Kylo brought me to an oracle named Sasha."

"Ah yes," he noted. "You have done well, nephew."

Kylo seethed, baring his teeth once more. But he was careful not to draw his claws out, lest he scratch Rey beneath her pajamas. _I don't need your praise, Skywalker._

His words were loaded with a spite that seemed to have no end. Luke promptly ignored it. "The High Principal extends her concern for your situation, Rey, and had wanted to give you this."

He handed Rey a slim metal object, long and shiny, only about the length of her small hand. It was a fountain pen that appeared to have suffered many arduous days. Rey blinked at it tentatively, but Kylo knew it for what it was. Upon this realization, he threw his frustration up against Luke's barriers, too angry to care if he got through. 

_Why do you have this?_

Rey craned her head towards him at the question. 

"It was my father's, Ben." Luke said simply, to which Kylo only shoved Luke's mental barriers harder. His anger rattled against Rey's mind, too, but she'd already turned to observe the fountain pen once more. It was streaked with black on the sides, meeting in an elegant angle as it neared the tip. The rest of it was plated silver, but it had looked far dustier than the first time Kylo had seen it tucked away in his mother's draw; the only legacy his grandfather had left. 

 _It was supposed to be_ mine _._ He groaned. The sword, quite frankly, was safe in Rey's perfectly capable hands. It was just, his uncle had deemed him unworthy of it long before he'd been able to prove himself and that had been the source of his frustration. 

Rey seemed to understand, silent but keeping watch of the exchange. 

Luke scoffed. "It _would_ have been, had you not chosen folly over duty."

 _Duty has never led you anywhere._  His voice didn't crack this time.  _You're still stuck in that old Academy, the same way I left you._

"Duty has made me discover Rey's potential, Ben. Duty has made me mentor her." He pointed out. 

Kylo wasn't about to be beaten.  _Duty has forced you to exile her when she could be continuing her studies at that old Academy of yours. Or have you all been threatened to teach in the face of such an incredible amount of power in the body of one person that you had become woefully inadequate?_

Rey blushed again, but Kylo wasn't taking it back. He'd already told her this countless times before, now was not the time to entertain shame. Luke brushed it aside. 

"If there is anyone inadequate, it is you."

_I have only chosen to teach her because you failed to do so._

"That was not my decision to make, Ben—"

_Do not call me that._

“ _Boys_.”

Kylo's eyes immediately found hers in a piercing gaze. Resigned acceptance stared at him back and he wisely held his tongue. In that exact moment, Luke's curiosity made his eyes flash open momentarily, eyeing the silent exchange. 

"Maybe if we can try to understand what all of this is about, we can all get it over with sooner than later, hm?" She hummed and gave Kylo's back a slow, calming rub. His side of the bond projected his thanks. Luke kept watch at their every move. 

When he didn't say anything, Rey gestured for Luke to continue talking. 

"The Demon Realm wants you dead."

 _No_ , Kylo couldn't resist.  _Hux does._

"Yes," Luke countered, bushy brows meeting in the middle, but his eyes remained on Rey. "Thank you, _nephew_. But so does the _whole_ Demon Realm. Because Hux put a large price on your head." 

From Rey, Luke turned back to Kylo. "Sometimes I wonder if you're actually a Demon."

_Shall I prove it to you?_

"No one," Rey swiftly cut in. "is going to prove anything to anyone, Kylo."

Luke soldiered on, determined to carry his task. "Hux, alone, wants your life. The lesser demons, half-demons, and the phantoms only want you for a chance to mark a place for themselves in the upper levels of the Demon Realm. A new set of powers under a much higher rank."

"Hux can do that?" Rey asked, bewildered. Kylo Ren had shown her exactly what Hux had looked like through the mental link that connected them and even he can't deny that Hux had as much power over the Demon Realm as much as he did. 

 _Hux can do anything that I can do_ , Kylo supplemented helpfully, earning no disagreement from Luke.  _The Supreme Leader just doesn't trust him enough for his impatience._

Luke's hand lifted to his chin, rubbing thoughtfully. His eyes drifted slowly towards the fountain pen in Rey's hands. "Will the Supreme Leader be one of our problems?" 

Kylo shook his head. The Supreme Leader was might and fearsome power embodied, but he knew the value of following a treaty.  _No. It seems to me that Hux is enacting his goal alone._

"Would that not be the cause of his banishment?" 

The thought of Hux inhabiting the same plane as he did made him positively boil with rage. They'd been rivals ever since Kylo ascended the ranks in the Demon Realm so swiftly that Hux nearly fell on his back at the announcement that two demons now held the position directly below the Supreme Leader. And thus, his impatience and petulance began to show. Many times, the Supreme Leader reprimanded him but still he didn't listen. 

 _It could. But I feel like he's doing it nonetheless under the guise of a war within the Realm itself. A war within the Realm is more common than outside it, especially in the Demon Realm._  He recalled all the many wars he'd fought and won, all the slow-steadiness of a warless place only to return back to chaos the instant he woke up once more. He had never been weary of that life. Never. So why now?  _But if the Supreme Leader were to find out that Hux had enlisted the help of a half-demon.. that might cause him to look into Hux's plans and inspect it closely._

Rey's voice floated amidst the silence, confusion chiming in mind like a shuddering bell. "Is Bazine banned from the Demon Realm?"

 _Not exactly_. Kylo turned to her for a second and then cast his eyes down in deep thought.  _Half-demons have no place in either Realms, Human or Demon. They are created mostly be lesser demons lurking around for the sake of mischief. Half-demons may have powers, but are traditionally unaccepted within the Realms, so they wander between planes occasionally, mostly undetected if they’re powerful._

"So if the Supreme Leader were to find out of Bazine's existence within the Demon Realm as Hux's personal assassin, he would eliminate her instantly?" 

The prospect of a very dead Bazine was the focus of many of his and Rey's defensive plans but he doubted that would be the case. Not entirely.  _I didn't say that. The Supreme Leader will reprimand Hux for attempting to mount an attack against a Realm that is protected under a treaty. Demons do not like half-demons simply because they are impure. There is a chance the Supreme Leader will rid his Realm of her upon knowing of her existence, but will not soil his hands by dispatching her completely. Snoke doesn’t care if she ends up in the Mortal Realm, so long as she doesn’t exist in the Demon Realm. He is most likely to simply lock her out of the Demon Realm. And even then, there are millions of lesser demons milling about at Hux's beck and call, it would not take him long to decide that their communications will only require a messenger. And then their plans will proceed._

Rey blinked, hazels finding sky blues as she directed Luke a question. "While you were in the hallway, you called me a purebred. What does that mean?" 

If she hadn't asked, the fact would have simply be lost to Kylo, but as it is now, the prospect of Rey being a purebred made this a far serious matter than he originally thought. If Rey was a purebred, it would all make sense to him. But she wasn't one, right? 

Luke nodded solemnly. It tied Kylo's stomach in tight knots. "You are."

The look Luke gave Kylo was resembled the intense brown gaze of his mother's. That look spoke of a serious tension trying to be kept at bay. 

"What does that mean?" Rey asked again. 

"Rey, long before I had taken you to the Witching Academy to teach you, the prophecy had already spoken of a lone heir borne to the Underworld King. Every hundred years, he would bear children of twelve or thirteen, an entire coven. But upon his 7th century, he bore only a single Witch. The Witch that was said to maintain peace within the Realms for eternity. You are that Witch, Rey."

* * *

 

Green trees and lush plants bowed down close towards the moist footpath, illuminating her path, catching drops of water from the light rain trickling from the sky. The soil made thick squelches as it crushed beneath her quick steps. Vines loose from the trees slapped at her wet cheeks and met with the gaps in her fingers. Little animals scurried under the thicket, under the leaves of the squat plants, moving away from the rustle, moving towards safety. 

Soil turned to mud as the pour became heavy, dropping thick pelts of water against her skin, getting into her eyes, as she tasted it on her parted lips. The mourning gray sky provided no adequate light, but dappled her tan arms and face with the shadows of the overhead leaves. Her breathing was hard and fast and loud against her ears, her heart a disjointed thump against her ribs. Behind her, Kylo Ren bounded effortlessly past leaf and soil. 

He pursued her, hot on her tail, and drew his claws out. He sprang on his hind legs as she approached the wet trunk of a tree. With his claws, he dug into the wood and then released, lunging in her direction. She detected him within the bond, dropped on her knees and rolled around on the forest floor. Kylo ran after her even as she bolted left, following no certain direction, only driven by the desire to escape. 

This was not what he wanted.  _Fight back!_ He shouted through the bond, slowing down to watch her move left. He sprang diagonally from where he slowed and decided to meet her halfway. The spells he'd taught her were dancing on the edge of her tongue, waiting to be let out. She had to fight. 

 _Fight!_ He flew in her direction, finally catching up with her, claws aimed at her face. Rey lifted a hand up when he neared, catching him by his ribs and flinging him against a tree.  _Use the spells!_

"No!" She shouted above the downpour, hair soaked through and lips dripping with rain. 

 _You must learn to use it! Tysta harva ta._ He blasted through the bond. The corner of her mouth was suddenly shot with searing pain, it sliced along the length of her pink lips as she ran, and when her hand flew up, the tips of her fingers met with smooth skin, skin that usually held the swell of her mouth. The shrill spike of terror shot at him through the bond, he threw his head back like she'd physically hit him on the head. 

His fur was soaked through, too, sticking wet and tight around his limbs. 

_You fucking sealed my mouth! How the fuck do you expect me to use the spells?!_

He grunted against her head, spotting her ducking the fallen carcass of a hollowed tree trunk and sliding down the length of an inclined patch of earth, getting dirt on her jeans.  _I'm sure you can find a solution if you use the spells._

 _Telvina ar'rita mves,_ he mumbled inside her head, amplifying his voice to push her into action. The words found a quick circuit from her brain down to her legs, rendering her legs immobile. 

 _Shit_. She broadcasted through the bond. She fell unceremoniously forward, her legs giving out underneath her as the numbness crawled up the rest of her legs, paralyzing her thighs. She continued on her arms, dragging her frozen limbs along with much effort.  _Tysta ante._ She said finally.

The seal on her mouth broke lose. She took a deep shuddering breath in, gulping down oxygen. Kylo Ren was pumping his legs faster somewhere in the forest, sending his approval to her through their links. Along with it, however, was a numbing amount of disappointment. The numbness was the least of her problems. Especially since the nature of the spells were creating delicious whispers in her head, filling her mind with dead-end promises. She grit her teeth.

"It's dark magic!" His head swiveled in the direction of her voice and instantly, she regretted that she was too eager to talk again. He turned a sharp corner and made a beeline for her. She found a slim crevice in the soil where a rock jutted forward to form a small alcove. 

 _It's crucial,_  he shot back desperately. 

The long, drawn out grunt she sent his way made him duck when she saw her hidden under the niche. She'd floated a branch and shot it in his direction. He'd ducked in the nick of time, a little too late and his neck would have been skewered. "Kathka rista!"

A trembling breath left him as his mind went haywire, the spell breaking the connections that tethered his thoughts together. He blinked, wavering unsteadily on all fours. He hadn't remembered teaching her that. But it had been too late, she had cast it. The thoughts in his mind circled aimlessly, and once he tried to rearrange them, they broke loose from his mental control, elusive and distant. He was lost. 

"Ante mves!" She shouted. Kylo looked up just as she emerged from the crevice, narrowly avoiding the wide arc of her arm in his direction, fist aimed for his head. The distraction and the chaos in his mind nearly cost him a concussion. He didn't need to look up to see that her eyes were the same blood-red color, she was walking heavily with her anger, circling around him. 

"I won't fight you, Kylo!" She forced through the haze the spell had created in his mind. And, no doubt, the serpentine song of the dark magic in hers. He fought through the mist of his thoughts and uttered a counter-spell under his breath. He found his footing not long after, lunging blindly, sensing her only through the ties that kept them together and landed his claws and pressing it solidly past her wet clothes just as she was trudging grimly away from him. She groaned aloud, sending the birds from within the branches to fly elsewhere. She shrugged her shoulders aggressively, actively dislodging his claws but in the process, leaving red indentations oozing blood. The motion was quick and small. With his mind still a whirlwind, his concentration took a toll on him and he fell on the forest floor. 

"Amve cro'ia ven!" The ground rumbled beneath her feet as a stone slab shot from where he was splayed on the ground, careening him a few feet up in the air. Rey made for the denser part of the forest, to paths covered with trees, away from his momentary vantage point up in the air. Distantly, she was panting out short huffs of breath. It sounded like laughter, ragged and crazed.

 _Wrong move, Rey! I'm flying above you!_  He was bluffing, of course. He wrestled to gain control of his mind. The distraction gave her a chance to push through his mind once the spell had lifted, pulling on his power to fuel her bones. She was rapidly sucking him dry, using his power instead of hers. All the while laughing while doing it.

 _Groth'ka ziba,_ he yelped but his flight spell was cut short. The spell didn't work, he landed a mess of black limbs, tangled in slim, slippery vines that braced his fall, trapping his legs. Her laugh flitted in his mind, followed by a self-satisfactory hum. 

"You were saying?" She said aloud against the forest opening up before her. The shirt was heavy as the rain continued pouring obnoxiously, so in a spur of the moment decision, she'd reached for the hem of her shirt and shoved it past her strained arms, the soaked fabric a wet slap against the soil. 

"Sordo etkum." She muttered, unbothered by the fact that Kylo could hear her now that the mind spell had gone. She found a clear, shallow pool of fresh water and submerged herself. It only reached half-thigh, but she crouched on her hands and knees instead, despite the uncomfortable dig of the pebbles and the moss-covered rocks under the heels of her palms. Her mind focused on the spell, putting a valiant effort to keep herself hidden and cloaked. This was a spell that drew on power as long as a mage decided to cast it. So she focused, breathing through her nose hovering just an inch over the water. Silvery shards of rain still poured from the heavens, creating rivulets of liquid streaming down her skin. 

 _I will find you._ His teeth were barred, she could tell by the way even the threat sounded forced past his mind, ramming against her. It physically shifted her head harshly towards the side of her neck, her movements rippling the water. She recovered with a snort. 

"You can fucking try." She leered smugly. Kylo recognized the way her voice dipped dangerously low. She'd cast a cloaking spell, but it was one that dragged. She had to maintain focus to keep it up and he already had a good idea where she might be hiding. Her signature was snapping in and out wildly inside his head, the concentration was wavering as she drew on his and her power aggressively. She was getting drunk on it. She was getting drunk on the whole exercise.

 _Kvetcka omni_ , the leaves stilled within the trees as the branches twisted into gnarly, sharp-edged pieces of projectile, finding the voice of their summoner. Kylo Ren smirked as Rey's panic filtered through the bond and soldiered on, undeterred.  _Kresna, Rey domso cheta. Agu sarate._ His command was met with swift agreement and soon the trees swung their vines, moving like serpents, down toward the muddied footpath. The branches stretched forward, the roots found purchase deep within the grounds, worming their way past massive boulders and rock laying beneath the forest floor. One twig shot past the pebbles beneath Rey's reddening hands and wrapped around her waist, lifting her up and hurling her into the direction of a waiting vine. The vine burned her skin as she twisted in vain against its tight hold. Kylo Ren came to view, smiling peacefully as Rey swooped down fiercely, trying to grab his body in her muddied hands. The vines left marks around her stomach, bared and red from the rash of moving around. Her arms were in the same state and the bare part of her chest atop the black sports bra she wore held the healing trails of his claws. The ones he'd dug that fateful night. 

His concentration faltered and, in a mad dash towards his direction, she gripped his body between dirty fingers. Rey was a picture of delicious violence, arms pulled taut, muscles bunching up behind her legs, teeth barred, and eyes blown and red, like the swell of a beating heart, drunk on the power to hold him against his will and be the one to have the access to his demise. Her shoulder length, chocolate brown hair stuck against her head amidst the downpour. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once. His energy was dwindling, eyelids fluttering between open and closed. For a long moment, he wondered if she’d press her thumb on his throat and push so hard he’ll start wheezing. But her red eyes flickered and her jaw clenched hard.

"Tosvo met!" She cried. The forest grumbled under her voice and vanished beneath her feet. 

She let him drop to the floor when the familiar scent of lavender in her bedroom switched off her aggression, and wordlessly trailed water towards her bathroom. 

 

* * *

 

 

Stir, whipped cream, straw, "enjoy!": this was Rey's mundane routine at the coffee shop. Which, by now, seemed utterly funny. She'd always thought it was too rhythmic, too hypnotic in its simplicity, too bland. Now she was thankful for the lazy distraction. Whipped cream. Memories of green leaves and rough stones and hard pebbles still littered her mind, she could even taste the rain on her tongue, and she spat dirt when she fell forward on the forest floor. 

"Enjoy!" She beamed happily at a middle-aged man nodding along to a conversation on his phone. He cast her a small sideways glance and nodded his thanks. Rey nodded back. He took the plastic cup in his hands and strode forward to a section of the cafe, continuing his conversation. 

Mel announced another order as she passed her by, grabbing an extra Styrofoam cup and filling it with water. The next customer wanted an espresso shot. Rey blinked rapidly as she set about the next order. This person must really need the caffeine. She worked silently on her counter, flexing and her still shaking fingers, lulled by the dull conversations of the patrons around her. She set the cup carefully over the blank slab of marble where the coffees were handed out and recognized the face that smiled back at her. 

"Luke." She said, hastily rubbing her hands on her apron, a nervous gesture, she knew he could tell. 

Luke merely winked at her, and despite the cloud of her emotions, the gesture took her back to days within high, gray walls and wide, illuminated gardens and training. She whined pitifully internally. She did not want to think of green things. 

"What brings you here?" She asked instead. Mel uttered another order in a short clip and she got to work even as Luke stood to give another customer some space to stand idly, waiting on the counter. 

"Oh, you know, I said I was coming back." He declared, taking a small sip of his espresso. Rey heard him mumble delight as the caffeine shot down past his throat. The customer beside him ordered for a latte. 

"Yes, you have." She replied, making quick work of the beverage. "But you didn't tell me you'd be here during my shift." 

The customer threw her an appraising look once she cast a slow, indulgent look at the latte and trailed off somewhere wordlessly.

"This is where you work?" Luke asked, still standing idly, staring out at the other Mortals going about their lives. The child, a girl, was carrying a plate back to a table near the windows. She settled and dug into her brownie as soon as her back met the backrest. 

"Yes," she hummed, cleaning out a few mugs that had been laid on the sink after a few hot cocoas were served. The residual murky brown mix reminded her of the insistent lingering of dark magic from the top of her head to the tips of her fingers, teasing her to do something reckless again.

Luke regarded her warily, aware of the mental strain of her morning activities in a secluded forest, far away from prying eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked. He was there the time Kylo Ren suggested it. Back then it had been an appealing idea to her. Now it wasn't so much so, the dark magic residue stuck with every move of her arms, every twitch of her fingers, waiting for an opening, waiting to pounce. She stacked the mugs upside down neatly, side by side on a wire rack and picked up a rag to wipe her fingers. He detected just how much she was tempted to slip her fingers deep in that dark trench.

"I've been better," came her short response. Another customer pushed against the front door and made a beeline for the counter. 

"I know this was not what you wanted." Luke observed.

"It was terrifying. Something bad could have happened, Luke. I could've.." She let the words drift away should either Mel or Finn hear her and left it to Luke to know what she meant. He nodded sagely, understanding her implications. Another customer sidled beside Luke and regarded him with a calm smile amidst the wet mop of brown hair on the top of his head. Rey took one small glance his way and thought if she'd looked as stressed out. 

Luke tapped his fingers against the marble. "My nephew is very adept in things I am not and very intent on teaching you." 

Her mind raced past previous memories and found one that she remembered exactly. One that held tight coils of power between them, both heads jerking back violently, nearly snapping them off their shoulders, and then looked back at Luke.

It all felt so long ago. Did he know that, too? He wasn't in her mind. He never needed to be. He seemed to know what was even as he glanced at her briefly. She felt exposed. 

"But he's stubborn, too." Rey replied indignantly. 

"Yes, well," Luke chuckled. "He had better be or I would have no reason to believe he's my sister's only son."

There was no reason for her to believe that Luke had other people in his life other than those he taught alongside with during his days at the Academy. But her mentor had remained silent about his familial relations when she'd asked as a young Witch. He always said it yielded nothing to her training so she never asked again. Now, somehow, with the addition of his nephew in her life, she thought that maybe he felt obliged to impart. 

She snorted again, louder this time. Why does every conversation allude to Kylo Ren?

"You have a sister?" She asked instead, finishing up another order Mel had mentioned to her. The next patron stood slumped on the counter, elbows leant forward and fingers poking quickly at a glowing screen. She slid the order gently and the young man caught it just in time. 

Luke nodded. "Yes."

"How come you never told me?"

"You know very well why I haven't." He smiled but continued. "It had been irrelevant to your training. But perhaps, now, I can make an exception."

"Was she that big of a deal?" She murmured softly, her fingers slipping inside another mug. 

Luke grizzly laughter filtered into her mind as she set the mugs down again just as the short professional clip of Mel's voice pushed her into making another cup. "In a way." Luke said finally. "She's a member of the Council."

Thankfully, the cup had left her fingers and found their way to the next customer—a flannelled girl, hair the color of seaweed—or she would have dropped it and had to pay for it through her salary. 

"Why haven't you told me about this before?" She asked, resting her palms against the counter and giving Luke a curious stare. 

Luke shrugged. "I told you," he replied. "Irrelevant to your training." 

She gave a slow nod, not entirely satisfied by his answer but not entirely focusing on it either as another mention of an order wormed its way in her mind. It was refreshing to have something other than Kylo Ren's thoughts settle in her mind.

"What is she like?" She asked after a while. She focused, instead, on the prospect of Kylo Ren's mother. It was still connected to Kylo, however, but she was his mother. She that brown-haired woman in her head during her time at the floating library, wasn’t she? 

Luke hummed thoughtfully, nodding once as a patron passed by swiftly and carried his newly made drink to a corner of the cafe. "She is stubborn, much like his son, and determined. She stood tall in her beliefs and had a firm head above her shoulders."

She couldn't stop the bark-like chuckle that left her and when she replied, she sounded incredulous even to herself. "Much  _unlike_  her son."

"Perhaps." Luke conceded and then crossed his arms. "But you have to admit that my nephew's single-minded determination urges you into action."

He was right, of course. Even when he was barging unannounced in her room to get her to snap the door open with her power, or sitting before her patiently when she struggled with meditation, he exhibited that same level of intensity in his actions, in his stare. All he'd ever done was for her and still she got upset with him.

She was forever grateful for his intentions, of course. Looking back at the forest exercise hours ago just kept twisting her feelings against her, no matter how hard she tried to not let it. She could have killed him, could have broken his small cat limbs from the inside out with the numbing headiness of the power soaking her bones. And she wouldn’t have cared. If she hadn’t stopped herself, she could have drowned in the power, could’ve ended it there in cold blood.

It could've ended messier, with more blood than she wanted it, too, blood that wasn’t hers. 

She spoke again after a while. Mel had to shake her to bring her back to reality. The residues of the dark magic lingered in the corners of her mind, feeding her gruesome mental images. At some point, Mel asked her if she was doing fine, to which she answered a noncommittal 'yes.' Luke had stood stock still beyond the counter, too, the worry was evident on his face and in the small tremor of his mind. He stayed even as her fingers found another cup and filled it with the order. After a full minute, he spoke again, careful. "Rey, perhaps my nephew’s methods are a little.. unorthodox, but all I ask is for you to trust him in his ways. There is reason behind the fact that you have been bonded. I am certain you know this."

"I do trust him," she snapped too quickly that Luke flinched. She tried desperately to contain the shake in her voice. Mel and Finn, to their credit, were either too preoccupied or intentionally ignoring the conversation. "It's me that I don't trust." She murmured, absently tracing circles onto the counter. 

 _If you had been there_ , she spoke in the creases of Luke's mind. This was a private part of her mind all morning, a part that was desperately trying to hide the younger version of her soul. The version of her that's rash and reckless, the version who had hurt and sworn revenge to those who had wronged her.  _You would have seen it; how angry and out of control I had been. I was keeping the dark magic out, but he kept asking me to use it. And when I did, I.. was cruel in it. I was seeing him in the haze of my mind, in the sheer amount of power I was siphoning out of him, as the object of my frustration and I had been glad to be the cause of his suffering. I had been_ glad _to hold such power._

And then, with a deep sigh, she stared at the tiles directly in front of her work station. "It would've proved the Council's decision to take me out of the Academy. It would've further disappointed you. I don’t want that anymore. Not now when I can finally prove myself."

Long, arduous days of spell casting and meditating to no avail brought frustration to a younger Rey within the walls of the academy, but Luke would always be there, crouched and arms wide open, waiting for her to barrel against him. Luke had sequestered himself to a life of celibacy, but he had provided for her a haven of peace during the days that dragged. The memory reared up now, and she tamped it down. 

Luke gave a resigned sigh. "What you have done before does not define you any more than what you decide to do now." He reached over the counter and clamped down on the hand that was not on her side. "I know that my nephew means well. He may have left us once, but he is by your side now, my two star pupils in perfect balance."

* * *

 

She walked past the backdoor on unsteady feet, her energy finally drained in the combination of running around the forest in the crack of dawn, and working at the cafe on a full house. Thankfully, Luke had left her with a warm feeling in her chest, as if he'd cast a spell that made her feel a lot less bad about herself and her situation. But she knew he didn't, playing with emotions was dark magic. And she'd had enough dark magic for one day. Mel got off work first, Rey followed not long after, and turning around, she realized, Finn had finished, too.

He held his arms out the instant she came within his line of sight, and she curled against him, shoving face first on his chest. "Aww." Finn cooed, patting her head gently. "Got into a cat fight, cupcake?" 

The statement was meant in jest, she knew, but the sigh escaped her lips nonetheless. Kylo Ren had been nudging on their connection ever since she'd stomped out of the bathroom in her work clothes with the tips of her damp hair soaking against her sleeves and collar. She wished she'd had someone else for a roommate. Perhaps Jessika, or Finn, or Poe, or Poe _and_ Finn. 

"Sort of." She replied. Finn pushed her back slightly against her shoulders and looked her over. Her hair was sticking out in odd angles, her lips were chapped, cheeks sunken and face pale. She gave off the impression of a zombie. Finn made a face and reached blunt fingers past her ears, pushed her hair back and pressed a warm kiss against her forehead. Why can't Kylo Ren be gentle like Finn? Was that so hard? 

"What do you say we get a drink, cupcake? I'll call Poe over, and maybe we can drop by your place and—"

"No," she urged. "Not my place." 

Finn took a deep breath through the nose. "Okay, then. We're going out drinking." His eyes sparkled with delight. He fished in his pocket for his phone and once in hand, he called Poe, who was, unsurprisingly, on speed dial. Finn's chest was warm and the thump of his heart was a soothing song for Rey's quivering nerves. So she stayed there. 

Poe picked up at the fourth ring. Finn flicked it to loudspeaker and began talking. "Hey, Poe." 

"Finn! My man!" She couldn't see him but she knew he was winking from the other end of the line, sitting on a counter with a stupid grin on his face. "What's up?"

"Princess is having a bad day." Finn announced into the receiver, ignoring the little pout Rey threw his way at the nickname. His laugh was a low rumble that vibrated beside her cheek. Not the same velvety baritone of Kylo's voice, but soothing all the same.

Finn eyed her warily, and then spoke on the receiver. "It's a code red." 

Poe whistled. "Boy problems?"

That made Rey look up, eyes flicking from between Finn, whose eyes rolled exasperatedly, to the shuffling sounds of the phone. "Poe, that's not what code red means."

"Really?" The sound of his breath passing his lips slowly told her he was yawning. She grinned despite herself. Poe had an uncanny way of showing his love for Finn—by consistently pissing him off. 

"Is it.." Poe's voice drawled. "Does it mean she's on her period?" 

She giggled when Finn grew stiff in her arms out of embarrassment. She had no reason to be embarrassed and he had no reason to be embarrassed, either. Finn was just like that. 

"No, Poe," he sighed. "You better not be shitting with me."

"Why would you say that?" Poe sounded incredulous and his voice came out a little louder than usual. The comic book shop must be empty. 

"Our Princess is having a bad day and we should go buy her a drink, Poe, that's what code red means. I can’t believe you don’t remember, especially since this coding thing was your idea." He said with finality. Rey tightened her arms around him until he wheezed shallowly.

Really, she got the better deal out of this friendship than either of them did. Finn turned to her, hand over the speaker, “The codes were his idea, I swear.” He insisted.

"Why do you guys keeps calling me princess?" She asked. 

"That's an unnecessarily long reason to fit in a code. Not that I'm complaining about the drinking bit." Poe replied, and then, just a pitch higher, added, "Because you're a princess, Rey! Our little sunshine goddess living with Osiris."

"Osiris?" Her eyebrows shot up in amusement. Finn and Poe laughed in unison, sharing an inside joke. If only they'd known just how precariously close that declaration was from the truth. 

"So, who's shouting?" Poe asked. 

Finn grinned. "You are."

Poe scoffed indignantly. "Am not."

"Are to. You said I wouldn't get along with the cat."

"You didn't." Poe's voice was louder this time, his lips were probably hovering close to the receiver. Finn shook his shoulder lightly urging Rey to vouch for him. She indulged him. The conversation was doing wonders for her mental state. 

"He did." Rey said finally. Poe let out an exaggerated groan at the end of the line. 

"I'll double the amount he paid you, Rey, don't do this." Poe begged, feigning fumbling with his phone if any of the overt shuffles were anything to go by. "That man is a  _monster_  when it comes to drinking. He's got an iron  _gut_."

Finn laughed full and loud at that, her cheeks bobbed against his chest as though urging her to follow his example. Inevitably, she joined in the laughter, their chuckles an uproarious chorus.

"It's not funny, Rey. If you ever go out drinking with him alone, he'd trick you into paying and he'd chug everything down! Literally! Even water!" The scratchy thump from the receiver must have been when he dropped his phone. Poe mumbled an expletive under his breath and then returned to talking. "How much did he—"

"I didn't pay her." Finn replied in a singsong voice. 

Rey mimicked him. "He didn't pay me."

"Then he must have manipulated you." Poe concluded. 

"You can say whatever you want! But drinks are on you! We'll come by and get you, see you in five." Finn chimed, still chuckling. Rey settled closer, not wanting to be parted from him. 

"No, wait—" Poe's voice filtered hastily, but Finn had already hung up. He grinned down at her when their eyes met. "Now then," he whispered playfully, "shall we go?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about which type of Mark Hamill I wanted for this story. The one I loved as the Joker in the 90s Batman Animated Series, Luke Skywalker, or the real life Mark Hamill. In the end, I just thought, what the heck, all of those people is Mark Hamill so, yeah. 
> 
> And yes. The spell words are totally, totally made up. 
> 
> I live for all your comments and I'll try to answer all of them as much as I can. Let me know what you think. Thank you for reading!


	11. Pawns

Her legs threatened to give out each time she walked, tendrils of hair had long since stuck against the sides of her face and created squiggly brown lines against her neck, tacked with sweat, even her fingers were trembling from the fatigue. The boys' voice passed with relative ease into her mind and suddenly, she could care less. Finn and Poe had been in a heated debate ever since they climbed in the car with her, trying to convince the other whether a story was better portrayed by its literary origin or better portrayed by an animated rendition, live action or not. She resigned herself to laughing as the debate intensified, putting her in the middle of two relentless forces. She'd let Poe drive once they reached the comic book shop as she settled in the backseat and snuggled Finn. 

Finn ran his fingers languidly through Rey's hair, scoffing. "You can't deny that without the book, there would _be_ no film to begin with. That's the whole purpose when the film industry says 'movie adaptation.'"

"I never said I denied it, I just meant, there are things within the literary piece that doesn't make it to the movie for a multitude of reasons." Poe countered, peeking beneath his lashes at the rearview mirror. Rey listened intently to the conversation. Neither Finn nor Rey managed to read the foreign trace of worry in his eyes.

"Then what's the point of adapting the story and transferring it to film if they're going to cut the scenes? If you ask me, that's just lazy storytelling." Finn shot back, fingers stilling against her scalp. Poe's finger tapped against the steering wheel when they came to a stoplight. She splayed her fingers absently against Finn's chest, nerves calm and at ease. 

"Because it reaches a much wider audience." His voice faded as he turned a corner. 

"Which brings us back to the argument that films based on books are only created for profit." His fingers moved back against Rey's head. She pushed her nose up against his collarbone and hid in the crook of his neck. 

"Books are for profit, too, Finn, if they weren't, then maybe books like the Harry Potter series wouldn't have been called a best  _seller_. They sell  _fast_." 

"They are  _literary_  works."

Poe shrugged, "And movies are considered  _literary_ , too. They have scripts you know, and plotlines."

"Plotlines they don't  _follow_." For emphasis, Finn leaned in forward slightly and jabbed a finger. Poe eased into a stop and parked across the street from a small pub, only just beginning to fill with the evening crowd. 

"Okay, truce," Poe offered, stretching an arm past the backrest and turning his torso around. "Lord of the Rings: Book  _and_  Film." 

"No." Finn said, almost instantaneously. "Always the book." 

"Aw, come on." Poe's elbow jutted forward but it didn't reach either Finn or Rey. The action had merely been for emphasis. Rey was dozing in and out of sleep gently, a larger part of her still wanted to stay away from Kylo Ren. 

Finn shook his head. "You can't use our favorite story to get me into agreeing with you on this one." 

"You have to admit the CGIs were far better at portraying Tolkien's overall vision for the story, though." His hand found the handle, pushing his way out in the cold. Rey glanced at that same exact moment to catch Poe ducking his head and smiling down at her. He opened his arms out, teeth peeking out from where his lips were pulled up at the corners. 

Finn snuffed loudly, letting Rey's arms slip out from around his torso and around Poe's neck. "The book made that possible. Tolkien was an expert in worldcrafting. He laid the groundwork for most of the other fantasy stories nowadays; Tolkien was a  _trailblazer_." 

"Tolkien was  _boring_  and rambly. The film guys just thought, hey, why don't we just slap on some visuals and get on with it? And boom," when Poe laughed, the short tufts of sparse hair growing the length of his chin tickled her forehead. "Blockbuster."

Poe kept one hand on the small of her back just as Finn circled back and stood on Rey's other side. "Hardly. The only reason the film adaptation managed to garner any critical acclaim was because Gollum had been a CGI marvel." 

"I don't totally agree to that, but, ah! I see a hole in your argument! You see Gollum as a CGI marvel, proof that I _am_ getting through to you!" Poe lifted one hand up in the air and gestured towards Finn. Rey detached herself away from Poe and stood awkwardly between them as they walked across the street. She let the prosaic argument lull her into a practiced silence, effectively shutting out the bits—a  _lot_  of the bits—she didn't quite understand. 

"No," Finn chuckled. "You're not. I'm not relenting to your argument. Come on, Rey—"

"Hey, it's my turn to snuggle the princess. You've already hurt my feelings. Haven't you done enough?" Poe cut in swiftly, affronted. He tugged Rey lightly towards his direction and she followed. She found that same spot she'd snuggled against Finn back at the cafe. Pressing her cheek against the broad expanse between Poe's chest and collarbones, she decided to put an end to the discussion. 

Before Finn can say anything in retaliation, Rey had already lifted one hand up. The boys stilled for a moment, both eyes dropping down where her face was still buried against Poe's chest. "Boys, I've had enough of that today. Make up." 

At that, Poe stuck his tongue out at Finn, arms tightening around Rey's waist. Finn rolled his eyes but leaned in to place an angry kiss against Poe's lips. Rey looked up the exact moment their lips met and watched as Poe shamelessly melted into the kiss. Her stubborn thoughts flew towards the orbit of a certain black cat, with floating golden orbs for eyes, voice a deep velvet caress inside her head and thought—crap, she was thinking about romancing a fucking  _cat_. What had her life become? 

The boys broke apart for air a moment later. Even in the brisk evening air, Rey saw the flush that blooming at Finn's face down to his neck. No amount of his dusky skin could ever hide the things Poe did to him. He stormed off into the bar and volunteered to find them a booth. 

Poe's eyes drifted back to Rey when she shuffled to return her gaze to him. He cracked that alarmingly charming Poe Dameron smile and said, "If you're ever in a code red, always give us a call." 

* * *

 

 

To the pits of Hell, she sunk, drenched in the souls and whispers of forgotten Mortal spirits and their many sins. She sank deep into the dark where the Keeper of the Phantoms resided, flanked and surrounded by nothing but the hollow sounds of what used to be now will never be. A Demon's talons dipped past the hole, crooking a claw to summon one willing soul. It was easy work. The souls never offered much resistance. They followed willingly, spinning at the tips of the demons' fingers, waiting eagerly for a command to be let out onto the Realm. They found ways to scatter along the dark corners and edges of the tall buildings and quiet suburban houses that housed the measly Humans, but the touch of a Demon whose desire shall be filled, fueled them enough to exist on the Mortal Realm as long as their captors deemed. 

They danced and lurked in the shadows with mirth, in form or not, glad only to serve their master and then they come back. If their mission yielded, they are taken up, placed far higher than any other spirit, sitting with the big and the bad. If their mission failed, they return to this Realm, never to be touched by a Demon's desire ever again. It was like drawing a moth to a flame; the promise of power is the most potent poison. 

It seemed to Bazine like this might be the fate she might have. Failure was not an option to the mighty Demon that was Hux and failure was not on her mind either. The silver tips of the weightless phantom she donned clashed with the dark, unwelcome blanket of nothingness that was Hell. The gilded sides formed the shape of her body, now hidden behind a specter. Dusty traces of gray and rich sapphires fused with sparkling colors of silver and gold, carving the sharp corners of her jaw, sliding the high slope of her nose, and forming the soft swell of her deep, dark lips; a phantasm of beauty and grace. Bazine could take on any form she wanted, even if it was the image of a deity descending upon the shadows. 

The spirits against her sides stilled in the chaos that was their dwelling, wisps of black, caustic energy frozen in silence, keeping watch. They moaned and lunged and screamed of her touch and it resonated deep within her, a feeling of oneness, feeling like she belonged. Half-demons were outcasts for reasons they did not create. They were shunned by the Demons who wouldn't even deign to cast them a glance, unwelcome with the Mortals because they craved and murdered for sustenance, and amongst their own kind, they were isolated from each other. There was no place in the realms for half-demons. And Bazine was determined to put an end to that. 

She stilled in mid-air and flicked her head wildly around for the sound of a silvery laughter, light and fluidly ringing inside her head. Nothingness stared back at her from all directions as the moaning became an ominous rumble above her, hinting on something far more terrifying coming. 

She knew what it was that they were chanting, knew who it was that they were waiting for. The only one that they always waited for. A thin line of smoke passed the corner of her eye and disappeared, only for another round of seductive laughter to echo around the space. Spinning, another wisp passed between her phantom fingers, ice cold and unforgiving even to her scepter form. With the chorus above her building to a crescendo, a burst of light propelled itself towards her and vanished just as quickly. Beneath the burst of light, the wisps and the shadows and the smoke came together, particles combining and morphing into something that resembled her form. 

Only this one's specter-like appearance belied a quivering grace, a low rumbling of doom and a constant storm of anger. White licks of light and shadow warred against each other to form the beginnings of slender fingers, too long and too thin, the tips covered in crimson. The light and the shadow reached up, defining the luminous edge of jaws, the elegant curve of ears that ended with the same sharp point. The semblance of a face came to view, closed eyelids opening up to icy orbs blank and reflecting one's very sins, one's very soul, desires, and hopes, and dreams.

The lights passed quickly downwards, forming a smattering of silvery hair against bare colorless skin, shifting from shade after shade of white and black. The specter ended with a delicate curve of smoke at the bottom and from the scalp exploded a trail of ebony hair dusted with the same shade of white and crimson, held up at the edges by a frayed reflection of gray. 

She tried to straighten up as much as she could. The Keeper of the Phantoms held nothing of Demon Master Hux's anger, she held _more_ of it. And if Bazine was completely honest with herself, more dignified anger. The creature looked curiously at Bazine for one long moment, studying her with reflective icy orbs framed by delicate, long and luminous lashes. 

"Ah, a half-demon," she declared, flicking a wrist dismissively. At the swift curve of her palm, the shadows howled and flew away. "What unusual company. Do you need something from my domain? Or," her lips curved. "Has someone from upstairs commanded you?"

"Upstairs." She replied weakly. She gathered herself despite the discomfort of seeing one delicately white brow shot up. "The Demon Master Hux and I offer you a chance to lord over all the Realms."

No sooner had she recovered from her shaking proposal had the Keeper burst out into uproarious laughter, echoing louder around her now that the space was empty. "You propose folly, my dear. That cannot be done!" 

"The prophecy is true, Keeper. The girl is within the Realms. She is the only one born of the Underworld King on the 7th, they say, the one to forever seal the fate of all the Realms." Her voice was small and thin against the way the Keeper seemed to speak with the thunder of all of the souls around her. 

"I have no interest in the prophecy, or the girl you speak about. Leave at once, before you become one with us under my hand." She leered, drawing a sharp nail around the air. 

"But you do. You do have interest." Bazine spoke bravely. She imagined the Keeper's long train of ebony hair as curled, thick masses of horns. 

The Keeper's eyes flickered wickedly towards Bazine, lips pulling up in amusement, showing a neat row of sharp teeth beneath. The specter floated above her, holding her gaze and lulling her with a song. Only to vanish and reappear behind her. 

"You dare force me into this little game!" She spat. 

"It is not a game." Bazine countered, drawing within her for something, anything that could boost her confidence. "We propose only because we know we will succeed."

"Demon Master Hux is a  _pitiful_  excuse for a Demon! Fueled only by anger and rage. The lot of them are." She vanished again, disappearing into a small vortex of light and then in the span of a second, breathing down her neck. "He is playing games as we speak, dear, Demons are not to be trusted." 

"But you are at their beck and call!" Bazine shouted all too loudly. The Keeper howled with enough intensity to rattle the power she held to keep in her form. 

"We are fulfilling the Order of the Realms!" Her hair flew frantically to the side, eyes burning when she stared her down. 

"You are _slaves_ to their wishes!" Bazine accused. 

"We cannot turn on the hands that put us here!" One sharp claw drew up and snapped, crimson flashing and then thousands of souls ramming down her back. She took the pain in, not willing to show weakness. 

"But you can fight alongside it. Wouldn't it be such wonder if you were to escape to the Human Realm if you so wish?" The promise was a lullaby to the souls behind her, away from her. Even the Keeper looked on curiously. "If the girl is disposed, we can fight the bounds of the treaty and reclaim power." 

It was working. Bazine grinned to herself and then turned her head back, silver hair fanning out past her hips. "The Master promises you a chance at the Mortal Realm, a chance to revise the treaty for good. A chance to rule and lord over the Humans like we have before. A chance," she turned to the Keeper. "To  _escape_."

The Keeper looked doubtfully between her and the souls crying for the promise, moaning for the taste of anything but darkness. Bazine watched on as the decision moved all across the Keeper's face. It was all too easy. 

There was fire in the Keeper's eyes when she turned, once icy glares turning into fiery furnaces of that pure, pent-up anger she had been certain on feeling. "We are at the mercy of your wills." 

"We are grateful, Keeper Phantasma." 

 

* * *

 

 

Spikes of lust and carnal desire floated around the air all around her, distracting her from the new debate between Poe and Finn. This one was much more toned down and playful, the shoves and pokes they gave each other told her that much. The languid swirl of transparent brown liquid in her mug spared her silence from the ever rumbling storm in her head—this time, caused only by her. She watched at the people on the wide dance floor absently, moving their hips and wrapping their arms around sweaty, drunk strangers shuffling about on tottering feet.

A small couch sat just a little a ways from the commotion of the dance floor, where at least three pairs of couples were engaged in amorous congress. Every spike told her the amount of people coming in at every minute that dragged forward. Her and Kylo Ren's extended rage of mind sensitivity proved to be distracting and obnoxious for moments like this. But she willingly took this challenge on. Kylo was training her the way he thought she needed to be trained and so she would be training herself, too. 

Finn's voice cut in the air around her. She whipped her head towards their curled up position on the booth. She'd been long forgotten as they got settled and she was strangely happy for the accompanied loneliness. No matter how strange that might sound. 

"You sure you don't wanna call it a night yet, princess?" He asked, concerned. His eyes weren't as drenched in the haze Poe's eyes were now. 

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. We can stay a little. We can stay as long as you guys want." 

Poe looked at Finn, then, huffing as he pushed his weight forward. They both looked at her after a tense episode of staring at each other and then Finn declared, "Rey, I know you're going through some stuff, right now, but maybe, this one's not for the booze to solve." 

"How do you know that?" It came out a little harshly than she intended.

"Rey, we can stay here if you want. But that doesn't mean that's the best decision." Poe added, slurred but firm in his words. He set down the bottle lazily on the table and called for a glass of water, as they both waited for a response. 

Finally, she sighed. Perhaps she had been trying to escape for far too long. She knew Kylo Ren's intentions were clean and understandable. He was only fighting her to make her fight back, so that when the time comes, she can choose to fight back, too. She remembered the time she decided that talking to him would make life easier for her. Oh, how she'd been so hypocritical. 

She nodded slowly to Finn and Poe, who immediately got up from the booth. They hugged her close when she neared them and then she excused herself to the bathroom. 

Rey sprayed water on her face once she entered the decrepit restroom bar, defaced and vandalized with less than pleasant accusations and covered with lewd words and drawings. But she let it all dribble down at the far edges of her mind, she ignored the scent of sweat and sex inside the space and looked at the reflection she cast against the mirror. 

She had looked as tired as she did after training with Kylo and she bothered not to hide it when she got home. Let him see it. She reached for the door and made to get out, when another woman came barreling against her side. The woman mumbled a quick apology and turned away but Rey recognized her anyway. The same girl who’d been coming to the café ever since the first time she saw her and on the occasion, she’d talked to.

"Jess?" She called. Jessika spun quickly towards Rey and padded forward and into her arms. 

"What's wrong?" Rey asked. 

"Poe." Was her simple response, sniffling. 

"Poe?" Rey asked. "What about him?"

"I didn't expect to see him here." Her voice was muffled between her fingers. "He was my ex-boyfriend." 

"Oh," she answered unhelpfully. Jessika moved closer to her and wrapped two arms tightly against her waist. "I'm sorry, I guess."

"Were you with them?" She asked accusingly, brain clouded with a confused kind of anger. 

"I was. He's my friend Finn's boyfriend, now. You never said anything. I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay, Rey, really. It's just.. a little upsetting is all." Jessika admitted, rubbing the heel of her palm against one teary eye. Rey nodded dumbly, not entirely sure what to do with Jessika's arms still around her. 

"Rey," Jessika called a little later. Rey turned her head towards her. "Can you.. can you tell me about your family?"

“Uhm sure, okay, but, why?”

Jessika shrugged. “It’s what I need right now. You get me. And it’s the only topic I can think of that connects me to you.”

Thoughts of gravestones and fond smiles filtered through the gaps in her mind as she reminisced the way Jessika showed the love she had for her father even as death took him away for good. It was all the time she needed to indulge her, though she found it quite odd. 

"My father," she began, smiling a little. "Was this amazing person. He loved sitting with me by the lake and skipping stones with me. He loved reading me fairytales, too, always the ones with the happy endings." She laughed bitterly at that memory. It passed between the walls she put up and she allowed it. Kylo Ren wasn't there to inspect it after all. 

Jessika was listening intently at her, tears drying up and lips forming into a smile. "And your mother?" She urged eagerly. 

Rey chuckled. "My mother was beautiful and elegant. She passed time with swords and taught me some of the forms just as I was able to hold a stick with my little hands." Rey opened and closed her palms for emphasis. Jessika listened throughout it all with a certain type of hypnotic reflection in her eyes. It placated Rey's nerves and gave a strange balmy sensation in her mind. It was surprising, but she knew it was what accompanied her when she recounted memories of the happier moments of her past. 

She didn't notice the exact moment she'd stopped talking, or the moment after that when Jessika had slipped past the restroom door and left her slumped against the squalid sink, eyelids dropping heavily and mind settling into the beginnings of a deep sleep. 

* * *

 

Spots danced behind her eyes reminding her of the dust motes the sunlight brought in past her windows on lazy mornings. Her arms and legs were heavy and sagging against.. was that her couch? The scent of her laundry detergent sparked her brain into action and when she moved her fingers, they met with soft tufts of her fleece blanket.

She had the distinct feeling of floating, in her mind, though her limbs were heavy as rocks. A quick touch to her thoughts assured her that nothing was amiss. The day had begun by a little too intensely. She remembered the crunch of dirt and leaves and twigs under her shoes, remembered the first dagger of power. Dark magic plunged inside her, and Luke's café visit. Nothing was amiss. White ceilings met her when she opened her eyes, and moving her head to the side allowed her to examine the rhythmic spin of her ceiling fan. Her eyes continued its path until it reached her television set and settled on her coffee table, its tops littered with a lone pizza box, one pitcher of cold water, and three glasses. 

She blinked, pushing herself up on her elbows. A quiver shot through her biceps, short but strong, as she fell inelegantly back on her couch. She yelped when her neck met the edge of her armrest. Almost instantly did Finn's worried face appear from the space between her coffee table and couch. Had he been there all this time? Shit. What if he saw the spell book? Poe's head popped up, too. They'd been lying down together in that small space. A small grin tried to tug at the corner of her lips but she didn't have much strength to keep it. 

"Hey, princess." Poe greeted first. Finn leant back to give him space to stretch his hand out and stroke absently at her hair. 

"Where's your medicine cabinet?" Finn offered. 

"It's in the kitchen." Her voice came out scratchy, her lips felt thick and heavy against her teeth. Hints of booze danced beneath her tongue and wafted out when she opened her mouth. Poe, who was sitting closely, checking up on her, didn't seem to mind. Especially since he probably smelt the same way. 

Finn was quiet when he entered her kitchen, probably methodically searching her cabinets and cupboards with a stern eye. Slowly, her mind was drifting ashore, her thoughts didn't feel too light and airy anymore. The rough pad of Poe's palm against the back her hand made her head turn. 

"What happened?" The question came out as a broken whisper. Poe hesitated. And then, with a sigh. 

"You were gone for quite a while, so we went to find you. We.. found you in the restroom, slumped against the dirty sink." 

Something in her eyes flickered. "You what?"  

Finn's figure came back out with a small box of medicines she knew she set aside on one of her shelves. "You didn't tell me it was more of a medicine box, sunshine." 

Rey allowed herself a sheepish, though hesitant smile. The gravity of Poe's recounting lifted. She reached a hand out to accept the pill from Finn's hand. 

"I was.. in there with someone." She tried to recall who it was, but each time she did, her mind was thrown into a buzz. It registered to her like the white noise from the TV when a channel was down—static and relentless. Poe and Finn exchanged looks. 

"Did he hurt you?" Poe asked, saying the words carefully. She made a face up at him, and Finn, who'd donned the same expression. 

"No." She assured. It hadn't been a man. It wasn't what they were thinking. But what _was_ it? 

"It's not a man." She clarified, reaching for a glass on the table and filling it with water. 

Finn's brows furrowed. "A woman, then?" 

The static was back, singeing at her when she tried to pull the memories back to get some sort of grasp at the situation. Her jaw went slack when she tried to push past the wall of static. 

"I don't.. remember." Her voice was coming back gradually but her thoughts were slow and dragging. She popped the pill in her mouth and washed it down with the water. The liquid passed in a cool stream down her throat, giving her at least a semblance of calm. 

Poe's lips pressed into a thin line, the thick mass of his eyebrows meeting in the middle. She'd never seen him so riddled with worry before. Finn, too, was looking away, undoubtedly trying to investigate the events intensely. They had been so caught up in their worry that they didn't notice the exact moment Rey had sat up. When they did, though, they quickly insisted she stay down. She waved one hand up dismissively and continued, pulling her legs gingerly against her chest and leaning the side of her body on the back rest. Finn was beside her in an instant. Poe stayed on the floor. 

"Will you be fine here? We can stay if you want." Poe was sincere, she can tell from his eyes. But she shook her head, nonetheless. 

"We just want to make sure you'll be okay, princess. You look pretty.. out of it, right now, as it is." Poe added, casting a lazy gaze at her face and grinning carefully. Rey gave him a small smile to assure him. 

"Go on. Tell me what I look like." She mumbled. A bark-like chuckle left his lips. Finn slapped his arm hastily, sending him a look. 

"Poe!" He admonished. He sounded every bit a scandalized mother. Rey laughed again, reaching over to Finn on impulse. Her fingers found the soft curve of his jaw and pulled, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

"Thank you, guys." She whispered sincerely. 

She let him go and moved on to lean her head down and kiss Poe's forehead. 

"Really, Rey. If you'd want us to stay, we'd be glad to. I'll give you a day-off—"

"I can't allow you to do that, Finn." She chuckled. 

Finn nodded mutely, lips finally tugging into a smile. "Okay, princess. We'll stick around a couple hours just to make sure. Will that be fine?" 

Poe was already looking eagerly between her and the television. Rey rolled her eyes. "Go ahead. Just make sure you clean this up after." She gestured flippantly to the mess of things on the table. 

"Roger, roger." They replied in unison.

 

* * *

 

 

Any hope of the static lifting from her mind the following morning was swiftly crushed the instant she tried to blink her eyes open. The listless noise in her head didn't spread, or press against the corners of her consciousness the same way it did the night before. No sensations of a small searing heat at the edges of her mind registered to her. It felt almost like it was subsiding, but it was still pretty much there, though mute and small. She'd tried to trace where the static began, how it had formed. It glowed bright and angry, then, when she tried to figure out its origin, as if it was preserving itself from her. 

Something was wrong. 

Dread curled in the pit of her stomach, clawing at her flesh from the inside. 

Something was wrong with  _her._  

But  _what?_

Just like last night, there was nothing amiss about her physical form. She hadn't been raped, or touched by anyone, no. The damage was far worse than that. Someone had done something to her _mind_. The angry groan that left her echoed within the crevices of her mind loudly, rattling another signature of energy meandering at a corner of her mind. She looked up. A black cat stared at her on the coffee table, looking expectantly at her. The once open pizza box sitting atop it the night before was gone, and the glasses were cleaned and placed back in her kitchen. She gripped the side of her head as the static scratched hastily along the side of her mind when her gaze fell anywhere near the black cat. It pulled her away physically, demanding her to look elsewhere. 

At first, she thought it might have been the alcohol. But that was impossible. She hadn’t drunk herself silly last night.

She took in a shaky breath, fingers curling against the cushion beneath her. She forced her eyes to take in the unmoving form of the black cat in front of her, staring right back in her hazel eyes. The static hissed and brought a sharp throb to her temple that caused her to slam her head back on the headrest. The signature pounced in her mind, concern flaring out like the range of a sandstorm, pulling her to safety. But the static would not let go. It was an immovable force inside her head. 

She chanced a look back at the cat, whose shoulders were now jutting forward, legs spread in a stance that made him look almost feral, and molten gold eyes framed by rounded lids. The signature jolted back, unfazed. She connected two and two together. The cat was doing something to her. In her mind. The cat was the force inside her head dragging her from the static. But it gripped all around her, not threatening but not relenting either. She let out another loud groan when the cat touched the static within her mind from some sort of link that bridged the perimeters of their minds. 

Like a bond. Her eyes shot open. 

The bond. "Kylo." She muttered weakly. 

The cat's eyes fluttered, the signature—now she knew was his—gave a warm wave of relief. The relief belied a confusion she mirrored. He was trying to figure it out, too. 

Kylo Ren was trying to figure it out. The static was burning against his mind, too, though not quite crossing. But that was what it seemed like he was doing. He was trying to pull it out of her over to his side, trying to rid her of the pain. The static fixed itself a place within Rey's mind, stubbornly holding ground. It screeched and hissed when they'd tried to uproot it, and it burned Rey with the intensity of a thousand suns. Kylo Ren was in deep concentration, staring at the limbs she knew was now weak and sagging against the couch. 

It seemed like eons before Kylo decided to draw back, head lifting and then dropping with his fruitless attempt. The buzz was still there. Not quite pervasive, but still floating in a mass of sensations Rey did not understand. Kylo moved in her periphery and within seconds, her left hand was sitting on top of silken fur. He begged for her to look at him again, but the dull throb became a ceaseless ring that brought a harsh pounding along with it if she so much as looked at Kylo Ren's paws. So she sighed and turned away completely. 

Dejection filtered in her mind for only a split second before she could try to analyze it. Delving into his mind, however, was strangely easier than trying to get him in her line of sight. So she used that mode to communicate with him. 

He leapt at her the very moment she passed his barriers with ease, engulfing her in a cocoon of dark, but alarmingly gentle, wisps of energy. His mind was open to her, such that when she dipped, he let her sink. She'd never been fully in his mind before. It was strange. He was warm around her, but not quite the heat that singed flesh from bone. It was like sunlight, a warm caress. He felt like sunlight and smelt like the iron of blood and the earth after rainfall. She'd never felt more at ease. It was ironic. 

The rumble of his voice came next, she jolted only slightly. As though she was hearing it for the first time. "Rey." Her name passed his lips in a soft breath, sounding every bit like a prayer. 

Everything was amplified in his head. Even his voice sounded like he was just standing there beside her, like he'd just found her in the wide open space and drew closer to her because he simply can't help himself. "Kylo." She whispered back. 

Out from the corner of her eyes, a pair of thick limbs emerged from the lick of flames. With iron plated scales wider than her small human head. The limbs were turned inwards, crossed in a lotus position. The scales roared up, melting into midnight black skin and tapering out to sharp, solid claws planted on the hard knob of his knees, the same hard scale material. A tight abdomen flared up to a broad chest reflecting a weak sheen from the small beacon of light that was coming from her body. It was gray at the surface and she could see herself on it. His neck came into view next, in vestiges of gold and silver light, forming the curves of a gigantic Adam's apple, the sharp corner of a muscular jaw and the high point of an aquiline nose. Traces of gold and silver dug sunken lines beneath eyes burning bright with the light of a thousand flames, as though the creature was flame encased in a nightmarish assortment of extremities. 

The horns should have terrified her the way it did before. But it didn't now. Because she knew who it was beneath all that iron, all those dagger-like edges to the side of his face, to the tips of his ears, to the curves of red-angry horns. 

"Kylo." Her voice was a melodic hum in the space. Kylo's burning eyes flickered to her, as though seeing her suddenly. He was quiet. 

"Kylo, what's happening to me?" She asked weakly, not knowing why, but looking at her fingers. She looked at the gaps between them, and then down to her wrists. Her whole being was glowing like that of an iridescent goddess. 

The beast leant his head down low, not quite touching the ground—there was no ground, she thought vaguely, only a vacant space of more black—but low enough so that if she reached up a hand, she would feel the scales against his chin at the pads of her fingertips. 

His eyes were filled with confused sorrow. "I don't know." 

When he spoke, his voice was gruff and thick, with it, rows of sickeningly green teeth showed, fangs long and terrifying. 

There was regret in the way his claws dug into his thick, hard palms. "I don't know, Rey." He repeated. 

"Why can I see you?" She asked more on impulse than curiosity. 

He looked pointedly at her with the same intensity she knew he had in his cat form. "You desired to see me." 

Rey blinked, looking at the wide open space beneath her floating feet. "I did?"

Kylo Ren nodded. 

"I'm not being eaten?" 

For a moment, the static subsided, or, at least, in this place, it was completely gone. This must a sanctuary, Rey thought. A point between the link where she didn't know where she ended and he began. 

"You are not." Kylo replied. "It is your pure will to see me. And perhaps it is because you have accepted my form."

"Completely?" She looked up. 

Kylo shook his head. "No." 

"But that night.. I touched you." Memories of booze and being in Kylo's mind in a state of intoxication flitted inside her mind—or his, she didn't know. 

"It was purely by chance. You were in a state of intoxication." He explained. "It is a blurry haze to you. Even though you have perceived that you were able to touch me, it was a sporadic chance."

He held out one large iron-plated palm for emphasis. She touched at one sharp claw, it solidified under her fingers but only for a split second before her hands completely passed through, like it had only been air in the place of his hand. She tried it again and was met with nothingness. 

She looked up when he continued. "In order for us to communicate without subjecting you to pain, the bond created a place in which our signatures can take in the forms we are most at ease in. Hence," he gestured soundlessly against his chest. 

"What was it, Kylo? Was it familiar to you?" She was talking about the static again. Kylo understood. 

"No, it isn't." His tone was teetering on the precipice of a fiery rage. "Someone must have altered your mind."

"Altered my.. why would anyone want to do that to me?" 

"We have enemies, Rey. Enemies who are very capable of doing things." He sighed. "I should have been there. I shouldn't have forced you into using the magic you so dreaded. As a result you moved away from me. And all the dark magic residue must have aided in the altering of your mind." 

The anger dissipated and in its place, a desperation she'd never quite heard in his voice before. Even gruff, it hushed solemnly. She looked up to stare at eyes filled with so much poignant sorrow that it made her shiver. "I should have known better than to do what I had done. And now you are troubled by something neither of us can understand."

"Kylo," she didn't recognize the soft velvet of her voice. "This is not your fault."

"But I promised to protect you." 

"And you have been true to your promise." She insisted, willing the deep aching pit of sadness inside him to be gone. "This is just.. an accident, is all."

Steely determination reflected in his eyes next, as the hard edges of his Demon form faded. 

"Wait—" she begged. His eyes held hers even as he slowly faded away. She reached out to touch him, to pull him back, his eyes still remained on her. In the final moment, as the last of his red-angry horns flew away and dissolved into dust, his declaration rang almost like a valiant devotion she didn't quite know the reason behind, but appreciated just the same. 

"I will fix this. I will fix you." 

* * *

 

Rey left the house with a protection spell—physically and mentally. He'd desperately wanted to keep her inside her apartment. Perhaps if he had more time he'd be able to find the bug that was causing Rey such confusion. But the girl was a consistently stubborn Human— _Purebred_ , now. So he relented to just casting a spell for her protection. She protested, of course. It wouldn't be Rey if there wasn't any type of instance where she thought she'd needed to clarify it to him that she could handle herself. 

Naturally, she rejected the spell. He reasoned it was for both their sakes, since they were connected through the bond no matter how much they tried to shut each other out during a dispute. The spell worked instantaneously. Where she was grinding her teeth together even at his shadow hours ago, during a very dissatisfying breakfast, now she was walking around the house on sneaks and the small hint of a smile on her lips. 

He saw the anxiety past the smile she offered and heard the hesitation ringing out at the back of her head. Kylo knew Rey would blatantly ignore it. But he couldn't. Rey could be as nonchalant as she wanted, but not when her safety and—quite possibly but hopefully not—sanity was on the line. He'd never felt such a strong flicker of energy within the bounds of her consciousness. The energy itself was scattered, peeking out from nooks and corners and divots inside her mind. It only felt like it was an energy floating in the middle of her mind, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't. 

It was both fine and solid, working its way within the small niches like minute grains of sand. He sighed. This was dangerous. 

She knew it was. He knew it was. But they both didn't know  _what_  it was. 

Eventually, he accepted the fact that he couldn't lean back on the bean bag, or sit idly out on the fire escape stairs, or levitate various objects in her room. He ran up to the window ledge and lifted the fogged up window to track the route he knew too well that lead to her working place. 

 

* * *

 

 

No sooner had Leia rounded the corner to her private office, had she lifted a hand up to stop Luke in his tracks. He watched as she paced quickly to the back of her large oak desk and slammed all manner of paper elements and thick hard bounded books of Witching policy and history and everything that the Council had promptly rejected. Even a proposal she'd spent her whole night writing, and the whole time she had in the morning before the Council assembly proofreading. 

"Now is not the time, Luke." She leveled him a glare, forcefully sitting on her plush chair, pinching her fingers on the bridge of her nose. 

When Luke told her he was coming over for a visit, she already knew she wasn't going to get rid of him so easily. He'd sent a letter to her estate a whole day cycle ago. It was written in his hand, she knew, but it also carried an urgency she hadn't been sure about the intensity of. Looking at him now, with the slightest trace of a smirk and the gentle but captivating blue of his eyes, she wished she could be more prepared and more accommodating of him. But she couldn't. Not now when she had been so close, only to be slammed down and humiliated in the middle of the assembly. 

Luke was as calm as ever, hands tucked inside the sag of his robes. "You said that the last time I came by."

"Did I?" She snickered humorlessly. "Well, this time, it's more important."

"Mm-hm. You said that the time before the last time, too." 

"I'm sorry, Luke. You know how it is." She yelled, but sounded pleading, too. Luke was an unmoving spectator of her slim outrage. She hated that she sounded desperate and angry and rejected and hated it even more that Luke could see it even if she so much as tried to look at something else. "We've been receiving reports of attacks happening in the Human world. Done by pesky Demons. You'd think with all their numbers, the Vanguards could keep it from happening and actually do something that does not violate the treaty, but, no. They had to be  _incompetent_. So here we are, slumped neck-deep with paperwork, solving problems day in and day out. Our Grigori can’t even report to us without worrying if the time it takes for them to do so would spell disaster for the Humans they’re supposed to be protecting."

The steady influx of low-level Demons and Phantoms the past days had sprung great concern within the Council. Under the Council Prime's approval, she vowed to find out the very root of the problem. She wasn't expecting the shock of the reality that a single girl had caused all of it. One single entity from her own kind. She hadn't visited the Mortal Realm for the duration of her investigation, but she'd traced and recorded all the attacks—they were all within the girl's area, near her dwelling, down the path she took to go to work, and around the parks and alleyways that opened and lead to the vicinity of her apartment. But each time, without fail, she escaped without as much as a scratch.

Thanks to her Grigori, it had been confirmed that the girl had been accompanied by a Celestial. Who it was, or how it got there, she wasn’t sure. The last report she got from her Grigori had been months ago, so she had to make do with what little evidence was left in her hands. That had been the fact that destroyed her case in the Council. Without enough evidence, they’ve set the case aside and completely ignored it.

The feeling of Luke staring her down brought her back to the situation at hand. "It would have all been easy. The paperwork and the joint decisions, there hadn't been much trouble before; except—"

"They are all attacking the same girl."

She made to stand up, pushing her seat back and squinting her eyes at him. "How did you know that?" 

"She is my student, Leia." 

"That’s Druid Leia to you." She corrected stubbornly but Luke cut her off. 

"Not here, you're not. You're my sister." 

Leia fumed silently at the admonition but stood her ground. She tried to focus on his declaration instead. "Are you sure?" 

"I am."

Perhaps she'd been the student they'd banished just a couple of months ago, the one with the too many violations and the too headstrong personality that reflected her own. 

"Isaac won’t be back with a report until next month when the moon is full. We've been poring over the details to try and figure it out." She stilled her voice valiantly to convince him. It failed spectacularly. Luke didn't comment on it. 

"But no one else in the Council is." He replied pointedly, his tone leaving no room for arguments. 

She visibly deflated. 

"I know you, Leia," he added, trailing after her and sitting on one chair beside her desk. She mustered enough courage to stare back at him, but not nearly enough to concede to show her desperation. "I know this isn't the Council's priority. It's just yours." 

Leia head shifted side to side, reaching out to toy with a piece of parchment she'd used to draft the beginning of her opening speech during the Council assembly. "It's just one Witch, Luke. An exiled Witch at that. The Council wants to divert their attention elsewhere. The Council Prime decided this so when he terminated my investigation."

"But you are willing to continue fighting for it." He observed, ramrod straight and unyielding on her chair. “Why?”

Leia knew he didn't mean to eavesdrop on her thoughts. They were born together, after all, siblings that shared the same mind. Everything she thought, he knew and everything he thought, she knew. Still, anger settled into her system once more. She had never been particularly adept at just accepting defeat. Luke didn't flinch when she dangerously uttered, "I don't have time for this."

"Ah, but you do. The Council has decided on a recession. Perhaps the evidence of your investigation did not align with the Council's expectations. Is there a problem? A lack of information, maybe, a missing piece of the puzzle that you haven't quite found yet. And so here you are. Here we are." There was a sing-song quality to his voice and he was smiling, but Leia found no pleasure in the situation. 

"Are you going to keep traipsing about ignorantly, or are you going to give this visit a purpose by telling me exactly what you came here for?"

Luke stood up suddenly, letting his hands slide out of his sleeves and moving them about in the air around him. Leia rolled her eyes. "And here I thought you had no time to spare for a visitor. Your own _brother_ at that."

"I do now." Leia retorted quickly, patience dwindling. "Talk."

"She is the chosen one." 

She pulled back at that, her spine molding against the soft velvet of her backrest. She stayed there, bringing one hand up to straighten the slight crease that had formed on her coat. Her mind worked overdrive. She’d been so obsessed with finding the chosen one for a long time that now that the information has finally reached her, she suddenly didn’t know what to do with it. But it still didn't explain how she'd managed to slip away from all the danger surrounding her. 

"How do you want me to help?" She asked, instead, knowing full well where this was going. 

Luke shrugged, as though he didn't know what she was talking about. But he answered. "I don't. But they do." And then, with a seriousness that scared her, added. "She is with your son."

"Ben?" She asked, a blinding fury concealing a more stubborn desire to see her son again. She bore it down. So this was the girl's trump card. Her son. He was with the chosen one. But why? She didn't want to ask that question, too angry to feel much else. She wondered if she acted like her son in that moment, but then realized she didn't care. Asking about her son gave way to weakness; asking about her son meant that she was proving the small voice in her head right in its assumption that her baser instincts had wanted to— _yearned_  to touch the face of her son once again. 

"It won't be long now. They already know about the prophecy. They are in danger—"

She pushed the chair back in barely restrained anger and stomped around the corner of her desk. She pointed an accusing finger at him, growling her words more than saying them. " _He_  has chosen his own path, and  _I_  have chosen  _mine_."

"And now his path is entwined with the girl's. Whose path leads her to _us_." Luke said firmly. Leia threw her arms up. 

"You're not bargaining for my help on his behalf." She warned, to which Luke promptly shook his head and paced towards the door. 

"Oh, I won't." As he turned the knob, he turned back just slightly to give his sister a small, knowing smile. “You’d do it yourself.”

"What?" There was a bite in her voice that Luke ignored with ease, having been too used to it by now. 

"The boundaries of the Academy and the Council stretches beyond the Whispering Willows of the West, the Aos si Fields of the East, the Crystal Moors of the North and the Mountains of the South. Only a council member can grant access to anyone from the outside world. Even though they are banished." 

* * *

 

No matter how many times she said it, he wasn't convinced. She'd been engulfed in absolute horror the morning of their joint discovery that something was wrong in her head. Now, she was striding in, without a single care in the world, chucking grocery bags on the counter and declaring she was okay. He snorted. 

No she wasn't, he told himself privately. A quick dip in her mind made him doubt his beliefs, though. The static, the ceaseless flicker of energy resembling the grinding jagged teeth of two knives—they were.. gone. Kylo Ren's head pitched forward, eyes raking up and down her form as she pulled out containers of food items and herbs and vegetables encased in plastic. 

She was.. fine?

No. That can't be right.

But she was already moving around the island, swaying her hips the same way she always did to a song he didn't know the words to. They shared a glance once she'd pushed all her food items within the plastic cool of her fridge. Rey shrugged, her idea of an answer to the question he still couldn't quite ask. 

He tilted his head.  _How?_

"Guess it was just a headache." Came her simple reply. He physically pulled back. That sounded more dubious in his ears than any other stuff she'd said so far. 

 _Does a headache sear your mind when you try look at me?_ She was forgetting one crucial peculiarity to the condition she was in this morning. Aside from providing a dull ache to her head that never quite seemed to even understand itself, the headache also somehow appointed him an adversary to her consciousness. He had no arms and limbs wrapped in flesh and set in bone to prove that he understood the way human sicknesses worked. But he knew it didn't work  _that_  way. 

All she deemed as an appropriate response was another shrug. "Strange things happen. Magic headache? Now, come on." 

He didn't follow her to the couch like he was wont to do. Something still wasn't adding up. Each time he peeked into the bond, however, everything was in its place. Her warmth was there, the mild pulse of her heart ringing through the space, the elastic languidly exchanging tugs from both of them, reminding them of their tethered lives throbbing in unison. He stared at the curl of her agile legs against her chest; at the short strands of her hair hanging loosely behind her ears, her nape; at the satisfied curl of her thin pink lips; at the dust of freckles across her face that turned into small, pigmented oblongs when she grinned or laughed. She was as Rey as the day he'd met her. 

Only, she didn't insist him to come running over at a particularly funny turn of events on her favorite TV shows. She just sat there, laughed, oblivious to his growing confusion.

She might really be fine but he wasn't taking any chances. He watched vigilantly, like a hawk, as she moved to fix herself some dinner. Conversation picked up quickly. Rey always had things to say, events to recount and tales to amaze him with of her mundane life nonetheless. The niggling feeling was more prominent in his head, though, even as she reached over and playfully tugged at one black leg, shifting his focus back to her when he'd lapsed in deep thought. She was brimming with a mirth he hadn't quite seen in her after their brief little escapade slash training in the forest. More confusion bubbled up within him at the sharp realization that even the small traces of dark energy that once hovered at the corners of her mind were no longer there.

His furrows met in the middle, head carefully lowering down at the bowl she'd filled with milk for him while he was thinking. She still held her burgers with both hands, still ate it with all the grace of a newborn donkey, still licked at the edges of her lips for the rest of the mayo. So why was he feeling this from her? Why did he feel like someone had replaced her with an impostor who looked every bit like the Rey he knew and every bit like the Rey he didn't? 

When the meal was ended, she picked him up quietly and deposited him on the bed like she always did. She padded in rapt steps towards the bathroom. She sounded like she was stomping. Kylo Ren quirked an eyebrow and tried not to think too much about. She came back clean and in a pair of bawdy blue and red striped pajamas.

At least that was normal.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's slightly apparent here that the set up of the Realms is a little different from just Heaven, Earth, and Hell. I actually thought about using that, and I did, in a sense. Mostly, in this universe, it's the heavens, the Mid-Realm, and then hell. A little loosely based from the Six Levels of Reincarnation in which each level has specific creatures in them. There are the Gods, the Humans, the Animals, Hungry Ghosts, Demons, and then there are the low-level spirits and phantoms. Hence, there is a difference here between Kylo and the actual creatures of hell. It's also the reason I call Kylo's realm as the "Demon" Realm, because they have their own. 
> 
> This chapter too, I have reservations, but I like it a little better. Leia's presence makes everything better. And hurrah, the plot continues to thicken. As usual, I am nervous about this chapter's reception to you guys. Let me know what you think!


	12. Of Hands and Feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “—self made visible  
> in the reach for a form, breath in this then  
> that, passed on or gone, and maybe that’s why  
> we love to kiss,   
> because then we come closest to the exhaled quick.” -Theory of the Soul, Mark Doty

One more day passed with the same off-kilter feeling in his chest at the way Rey was behaving. It was small—forgetting that she had put something in the microwave, leaving the TV on as she moved lazily towards the promise of slumber, or forgetting that the window was open in the living room and that the nights brought snow and chill—but he picked up on it. Rey was a creature of routine, had always been ever since they'd met. She came running at the slightest hint of light from her television, efficiently shutting it off before she went to bed. She was methodical in the way she prepared meals for them, too, he'd seen it in the intense concentration and effort she'd put into making a cake for him. She made a habit out of routinely checking any other opening in her house other than her door, like her windows, from the tiny rectangular one in the bathroom to the wide windowsill in her living room. 

So what would it be that would cause her to change like this? He wished the static was still there so he had something to blame, something to convince himself that this was the one causing harm. But there was nothing in Rey's mind other than Rey. No static, no bugs, no inexplicable sensations. She looked at him with ease, conversed in loose, tacky words with him like she always had, pushed her fingers against his fur every time he drew too close. 

He tried to silence the part of him—it was very large—that was still steeped over the edge of disbelief. 

 

* * *

 

 

Rey walked inside her apartment after work one day, while he was lounging on her couch. The feeling that Rey had somehow changed was still pretty much bouncing in his head. But where he felt unease for her before, he'd just shrugged it off as his own. Maybe he was just too worried and his worry amplified his doubts. She was humming in the kitchen, Kylo Ren knew she would be picking out things from inside her fridge and reading their label, scrunching her nose at a particular herb or grinning at a particular cut meat. 

After a few minutes, he stretched, arching his back and kneading her cushions with his claws. Not too much but just enough, and slunk towards the kitchen. She was facing away from him, shuffling in her space, dropping things inside what looked like a boiling metal pot. He jumped wordlessly on the counter, and stared at the little tufts of hair gathered up in her ponytail. He opened the fridge door for her in his mind when she unconsciously reached out. She didn't notice he had. She blindly grabbed for butter and set to work again. 

 _Rey_. He called finally. 

She gave a small jump of surprise at his intrusion. The knife she'd been holding fell from her hands. Kylo caught it in mid-air before it cut her cotton socks. She cast him an bewildered glare that seemed to last for eons, like it was the first time she was witnessing his powers. He watched as she emptied a bag of tiny potatoes and ran each one through the faucet. The hypnotic sound of the water cascading plunged him in a thoughtless silence. Her fingers were moving gracefully, rubbing at the sides of the potatoes and cleaning them. But her eyes were flicking fast back at him each time, like she was trying to understand why he was in the room at all.

She quirked an eyebrow at him after the task was finished, having set aside the potatoes. "Do you need anything?"

Kylo Ren blinked.  _Dinner_. 

"Why would I give you that?" The quirk was still there, challenging him. 

 _Because.. we eat dinner at this hour each night. Together on that table._  He enunciated the words in her head carefully, keeping his tone from rising up along with the slow creeping confusion within him. 

"Do we?" She sounded.. surprised. His head snapped up towards her face so quickly that it nearly snapped his neck back. The same confusion stared back at him, underlying a current of—

"I've never seen you before, cat." 

There it was. She was confused because she couldn't recognize him. His throat closed up, his breath suddenly leaving him. The hard set of her jaw, the tight press of her lips, her brows meeting in consternation, her hazel brown eyes and the inside of her head filled with so many questions.  _What?_ He choked. 

"And I don't know how you can talk to me, how I can understand you. Really, Mr. Cat, if this is a sick joke, please." She rambled on, turning back to her dinner preparation methods. "It's not funny."

_Rey, what—_

"And don't call me by name." A low pitchy collection of sounds escaped her lips; she was laughing. He wasn't. "It's creepy."

The elastic pull of the bond was still there, everything was still there, the Academy, the two male friends, the past, Luke Skywalker, the coffee shop—all of it. Except for him. He ignored the glances she kept throwing at him and the guarded flow of her arms and legs moving around the kitchen. She wasn't feeling him in her head either, not recognizing the signature she'd so wistfully hoped to find solace in just this morning. The blue-dress memory, that one night she got drunk, his confession to her in the tub, now reduced to half-formed thoughts, vacant of his black-catedness. It was like someone went back to check all of the memories she had with him and then eradicated him. 

He'd seen this before. This spell. It was the static. 

No.  _No_. 

 _Bedroom_. He could hear the growl inside his head even before it came out as a low rumbling purr. 

Rey took a step back. " _Excuse_  me?"

 _Go to the bedroom, now, Rey._ He commanded, his decision a liquid fire of dogged determination and authority behind his shining gold eyes. She complied with a confused nod. He delved into her mind as hard as he could, as vociferously obnoxious as he could, trying to test something out. She gave no resistance, in fact, it seemed like she was suddenly less aware that they'd used to be so attuned with each other that they were always inside each other's heads. He tugged at her signature aggressively, it made her hum and stop mid-stride, a soft spark of something in her hazel eyes appeared as she pivoted back on her heel. 

Good. 

She furrowed her brows at him but it wasn't out of pure confusion anymore. That something was back. 

The spell must have spread widely, but not deeply enough. He began on the path towards her bedroom, overtaking her and taking a seat on the bed first. Rey's eyes were doe-eyed from the abrupt tug he'd given her energy signature. 

He was going to fix this. He needed to. He made a promise. He'd declared it to her in his purest, most bare naked form. 

Her nails dug into the sheets impatiently, her movements too slow for his too frenetic mind. She was still tentative, not knowing what to do with her hands, or with her legs, or with all this. If banging his head on the floor was an option, Kylo Ren would have taken it. But the spell was spreading. Self-flagellation could wait. 

She was still pretty much Rey in that moment, as the questions rattled inside her head with enough force to show within her eyes. He found that small fact endearing. Perhaps he would die and never admit it, but it had always come across as beautiful to him. The way she just went ahead and asked and asked even when he was straining from where he sat at the ascending intensity of her curiosity. Blithely, he wondered how this girl could still manage to impress upon him a feeling of tenderness even if she was forgetting his very existence. 

His nerves were ice cold inside his paws.  _Do you know where you are?_

Rey's eyebrow shot up again. "Of course. This is my house."

_It is. Do you recall who Finn and Poe are?_

"Yes. They're my friends. How did you know that?"

_Do you recall Luke Skywalker?_

Rey was reeling her head back in disbelief. "And how did you know  _that_?" 

 _Do you?_  He insisted. It took a few seconds and whole lot more sharp dagger stares of from her before the question was grudgingly answered. 

"Yes."

_Do you recall who I am?_

A lone, dreaded syllable came out and he had never felt anything quite so disturbing and hurtful than the impression that his heart had dropped in a sagging heap at the bottom of his stomach. 

"No."

He swallowed thickly.  _Have you any idea what has happened to you the previous days?_

A different kind of curiosity flickered within her hazel eyes, thin, delicate lashes fluttering. It begged her to answer one simple thing she couldn't even remember herself.

"See," her voice was small, deflated. "That's what I don't get. I—"

Her eyes found him in that small instance, the slight surge of her signature told him that she chose to trust him in this moment, at the very least. He was intent on helping her rid this feeling of ambiguity she had with her own mind. Intent on releasing her from under the hold of something she didn't deserve. 

"Did you know where I was that time? I keep trying to find it in my head, but I just— it's been hard." He didn't care that she was rambling off. She continued. "Is that what you're here for? Are you some sort of Witch, too? Maybe Master Luke sent you to—"

 _I am a Demon._ His patience was waning, dwindling along with what little self-control he held over his emotions. He hated to see Rey so riddled with anxiety like this. He'd kill anyone who ever tried to touch her, physically and mentally. That just made him feel a lot worse. Because he didn't get to kill the culprit responsible for this, did he? The thought of it made him grind his teeth. Oh, but he would. He _would._

"What?" The syllable came out an exhale. 

_I am a Demon, cursed in this form by my master from the Demon Realm. I bonded to you prematurely one night, and we have been living together for at least four months._

"You're a Demon?!" Her eyes raked up and down his form, along his slim upright legs and peeked at his lightly swishing tail. "You? A Demon?"

He was almost offended. Almost.  _Yes_. And then for emphasis.  _A_ cursed _Demon._

"What did you do?"

_We don't have time for that now._

"Okay." Her eyes averted from his. She stared at her off-white sheets. Kylo knew it was two days before she would have to change it again. "You're going to do something to me?"

He didn't like the implication of her question but he doubted wording it differently would make it any less sinister. It sounded as though she was a broken piece of furniture, or millions of shards of glass scattered on the floor that he was trying to put together unsuccessfully. He nodded hesitantly.  _Yes. I'm going to do something_ for _you._

"For me?" She repeated in a soft whisper. 

 _Yes_. He replied, studying the gold and ember flecks in her eyes. This close he could almost feel the soft tug of her lips upwards as if she was enjoying a private joke. An unbidden memory flew through his mind, not quite materializing in a whizz of cloud and vignette images, but just passing by. A figment of Rey on the floorboards, shoulder blades painted in moonlight as she cradled him with a sob. 

His resolve strengthened as he stared back. He asked her if she trusted him. And she nodded, albeit a little falteringly, and with a touch of fear. He held this moment in tenderness, almost reverently slinking closer to her, nudging his forehead to meet hers. She met him in the middle, and their brains found themselves breathing in unison, one body connected despite the tumultuous storm in her head. 

He was a relentless form in her head, a phantom moving swiftly past images and flashes of Rey's past, and present with firm determination. He gravitated strongly towards the most blurred flashbacks in her mind, those that seemed to be so entrenched in something that they colored the memories in a sickeningly gray hue. It was not Rey's memory. It was someone else trying to re-create it, to add a layer over it and try to make it unrecognizable from the original. He pushed forward in that memory first. 

She gasped audibly outside the bond, her knuckles jutting out from the effort of gripping her bended knees. Kylo would have been worried weren't he moving with such urgency. He was trying to be as gentle as he could but there was no telling how devastating the spell's effect must be now. Her breath was hard and fast against clenched teeth. Kylo Ren knew better than to underestimate her. She was hard and solid and resolute like a rock, reckless and untamed, but resilient and tough. 

He saw her, then, clinging to that dusky skinned man at the coffee shop he knew she worked in. They were having a conversation with someone from one end of a phone. And then an image of Luke Skywalker, along with the words, "My two star pupils," playing on repeat inside the perimeters of her mind. He cringed but continued. The memory swirled at the center, like the whirl of hot brown liquid inside a coffee glass when stirred.

The scenery changed. A small pub off the side of the road. Rey clung to another man, the curly-haired one. He was mumbling kind and pleasant words to her, he could tell from the stubborn smile that fought its way to her mouth. 

She'd been tired after the practice. She'd been avoiding him, too. He knew that. But when the memory morphed into the image of the pub's interior—dark halls illuminated by dim lights and booths, small rounded tables with squat, thick glasses of alcoholic beverages, and grinding patrons on the foggy dance floor—he felt something heady and strangely familiar. It was a slow, rumbling pulse of energy, prowling the corners of the dive, training a predatory gaze on Rey, who was sitting cross-legged in one booth. He searched for the odd jut of questionable energy within the dull recollection and spotted, to his surprise, a girl with almost the same shade of Rey's hair and eyes that didn't look quite right. 

It wasn't the hood of her eyelids or the arch of her brows or her short, clipped lashes, no, it was what he saw beneath her eyes. His throat dried. He knew those eyes. 

Fast forward and Rey is shaking from the effort of keeping him inside her memory long enough. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was realizing that this was important. She gave no indication of recognition to his energy, still, but it didn't disappoint him as much as it did before. Dirty stalls and trashed mirrors peppered with obscene words and marks made up the next of the image. The girl he'd seen slunk inside. Rey was inside, too. She had smiled awkwardly when the girl surged up to embrace her. 

Jessika, he heard her name through the memory. He began to take notice that at this particular event, at this particular part of the memory, the edges became frayed, the color seemed more faded, too, like someone had tried to erase it and forge another one in its place. He tore through the fake layer of pigment and color with ease. Rey's mouth went slack, and then her jaws screwed so quickly her teeth clacked. She stilled herself and Kylo Ren continued with the memory. 

A mind spell needed only an entry point, one memory from its victim that was placed on such high esteem above all else. The girl had made her recount her parents. There was a fire of morbid success in the girl's eyes. Rey was losing consciousness fast. Her body in the memory slumped forwards quickly, her brain shutting down like someone had flicked a switch, and then the mind-bomb was spinning languorously past her barriers, barreling in with one intention—erase Kylo Ren. 

Beads of sweat formed on Rey's forehead. She was seeing the scene play out, too, he belatedly realized. And she was growing furious. In fact, she was brewing such a storm that it was pushing the memory away. He forced her to relax. To no avail, of course. She was like molten lava in her anger, bright and burning. In a split second, the memory was gone again, dragging down mental images of his black cat form along with it as though it were sinking down the drain. Rey grasped it just in time, mimicking what Kylo was doing. And then they plunged together into a dark recess of Rey's mind they'd never been before. He found himself standing there, in an awkward trance in his true form. 

Kylo physically reared back. What is this place? 

She was there, too, standing sentinel in front of him in the same awkward stance. The memories they'd tried to salvage of him swirled around in black clouds of energy around his monstrous Demon length. Kylo Ren watched, transfixed, as the small image of her glittering fingers shined like gossamer petals against his lowered chin. And suddenly, her fingertips met solid plates of pleated iron. 

A sharp spasm of energy racked up his legs, pulling at sinew and tendon, almost like he was being pulled apart. The memories were flying back up to the hallways of her thoughts, rippling past the gray hue the mind-spell had given her once vibrant mind. Her fingers looked like ethereal petals against the black of his iron and midnight skin, pushing through towards the sharp juts of jagged bone running across his cheekbones. He trembled in fascination as his cat tail reeled back inside him, what felt like skin, warm and fragile took it's place.

It was her doing. 

Rey was doing  _this_. 

He reappeared in her mind, taking the places that the mind spell had erased him from deliberately. His paws stretched, the rounded tips filling out with a much larger, much longer set of bones and joints; his claws receded to blunt fingernails, the silken collection of fur on top of his head grew into a mass of raven tresses, smooth strands protruding from the same flesh scalp. Her fingers were lost in the memory, reaching towards the sharp tip of his elven-like ears, down to the hard length of the side of his neck, tracing the curve of his prominent Adam's apple, trailing fantastical heat down the column of his throat and all the while, she was providing him with flesh and bone and life and heat. 

His furry chest stretched out to a broad chest, his furry belly giving way to a defined abdomen. The mind bomb was gone fully. When she opened her eyes, everything in her mind was ringing with a faded kind of buzz. And when she reached out, her fingers found the juncture between his neck and shoulder, once covered with fur, now a soft expanse of skin.

* * *

 

Something danced within the liquid fire of his golden eyes. Something that resonated within her being, too, a generous heap of a long-awaited relief. The fog she didn't realize was trickling out of her mind, but the abrupt motion of her thoughts slotting into their rightful places still left her with a lightheadedness that made her other physical movements falter and sag. She'd recalled the events of the night before blearily, but Kylo was by her side this morning and it had somehow released the taut tension barbed within her nerves. 

That was when an entirely different kind of tension broke goose bumps onto her forearms and pushed a blush up her cheeks. Kylo was watching her intensely beneath long, black lashes, eyes flickering all over her face for any clue to the beet red tinge in her cheeks, past her neck. She felt unhinged looking at him looking at her like that. He'd always looked at her like that when he was cat. Now he was a thick-muscled, black-haired  _man_ , dipping her bed with his heavy limbs. It was an out-of-body experience to feel him close enough that he was emanating heat from beneath her covers but not so close that his skin was pressed against her.

His eyes were still searching her face for something. She couldn't tell him she was blushing from the closeness, could she? No sooner had she thought those very thoughts, had she regretted she even dared to think them. But while she was expecting him to ridicule her, or chuckle, or mimic her smile, he just titled his head curiously, the way he always did during his cat days. 

"Are you alright?" The slight tension flared into a heightened sense of—was that, attraction?—fascination. She'd known what he sounded like, he'd been talking inside her head for the longest time. Hearing him talk like this, however, eyes focused on her, forehead creased with worry he wasn't even trying to hide, and—it barely registered—with one warm hand against her cheek, she had almost fallen to an oblivion of sensation. He was all over her head, too, trying to pick out the right explanation to her condition. 

"I'm fine." Her voice cracked. She regretted that she sounded disoriented, too, because she knew his instinctual reaction would be pressing his forehead against her. His fingers drummed lightly against her temple, blunt nails sliding across her skin. He set off goose bumps all over her body. She blushed again. 

Kylo Ren frowned, exhaling through his nose. The hot gust of air colored her blush deeper, but he was already closing his eyes. She couldn't do it; couldn't, for the life of her, even  _move_  against the sinewy bicep curled beside her head that propped him up on his elbow. His chest was brushing lightly against her arm, warm skin sending slivers of heat that made her feel uncomfortable, if not a little intrigued. There was no fur for her to twiddle between her fingers, no pointed ears to rub behind, but she still reached out from sheer instinct. He hummed lightly, the sound still a deep, silken thrum against his throat. 

His eyes flashed back open, his forehead leaving hers. After a moment of still watching her cheeks, he declared monotonously. "You are well."

"Yes I am." She cursed herself for sounding so breathless, stubbornly trying to keep eye contact. But it was getting really hard, and she was getting really confused. "I am.. well."

Kylo gave a curt nod and then retreated to the side of her bed he'd decided was his. He kept his eyes on her, vigilant and anticipating. It occurred to her that perhaps he was waiting to provide answers to the questions in her mind. She didn't stop herself as she asked him, "Why do I still feel.. buzzed?" 

He mulled over the question, strong jaws tightening up. The motion didn't escape Rey. She discovered a kneading urge to touch him again, at that spot behind the shell of his ear. 

"The sudden return of your memories must have caused you to suffer a shaky transition between what you have previously already known and what had been changed. Your mind is trying hard to fix the problem. Hence, the.. buzz." It was unfair that he was so unaffected by all of this. Unfair that he was as nonchalant of himself as though he weren't just lying down naked beside her, in her cramped bed. 

Wait. 

Naked? 

She peeked beneath the covers before she could stop herself. 

Yep. 

Very real. 

Very _naked_. 

The only logical course of action would be to sit up and pad around her apartment and keep a safe distance away from him. His head swiveled in a small half-crescent as he followed her movements. A quick whip of a dull ache forced her body to slam back down on the bed, making her wince. Kylo Ren soared instantly, sitting on his behind, the blanket sliding past his naked torso and pooling at his waist. He was back on her in the short span of time she inhaled sharply, elbows secured on either side of her biceps, hands splayed on the pillow, as the warmth of his forehead came back against her. 

His thigh was as thick and sinewy as the bump of muscle straining the length of his arms. She was flaring up so much she wondered if he'd detect it through the bond somehow. He had. She'd given a full metaphysical and physical shiver at his closeness, his eyes flew open and he declared in his velvet baritone, "You are.. embarrassed."

She was suddenly agitated, resolving to shove him off. He didn't budge even as she pushed hard enough, his eyes flicking between her brown eyes. "Why?"

"Kylo, you don't just.." she floundered for an explanation, an excuse. "You don't just press yourself against someone while  _naked!_ "

He blinked. She wanted him to laugh or say something incredibly inappropriate, anything but continue tilting his head to the side. It told her that he really had no idea, and that made it more difficult. Verbalizing her embarrassment was a torture he didn't intend to subject her to.

"I have been naked around you ever since we've met. Why does it bother you now?"

"Yes! But you were a cat!—ow." She made the mistake of trying to slap at his bicep. Her hand fell inelegantly against his pale warm skin, her muscles stinging. As though the buzz trailed down her nerves. Her hand was small and slender atop his shoulder. He stared at it, like he was trying to remember what it did before, and then he looked back at her pillow where his own hand had rested. He flexed his fingers, letting the appendages slide and feel the soft cotton of her pillow. Kylo Ren's eyelids fluttered, and his fingers drew small circles against her pillow, just beside her head. Intermittently, his fingers slid closer towards the stray strands of her hair against the pillow, winding themselves deeper so that when he looked back at her, he was massaging her scalp.

It was the strangest role reversal in the world; Kylo Ren, finally human, rubbing his calloused fingertips across the roots of her hair and straightening out small tangles. His eyes were magnetic, mercurial. He couldn't decide whether to hide his curiosity or let it go. 

"This soothes you. This.. action. Like it does me." Though his voice dropped an octave, it was the same monotonous rumble. 

"Yes." She was breathless again, and for a moment, she didn't care. He was smoothing more than just the nasty nest of her hair, his mind was also stroking against hers, shooting balms of calm like he always did. 

"I would like to try something." He said. She barely heard it. But she nodded. 

The heat of his body closed in on her body, the soft tendon in his neck stretching as he— _oh_ —planted a slow, lingering kiss against her forehead. The action didn't embarrass her or refuel her anger for his absolute disregard for personal space, no. She was too busy putting the pieces back together in her mind, untangling the haphazard joining of her other thoughts. She knew he'd seen the action from Finn and Poe and was just mimicking them, seeing, from her memory, that it had always alleviated her stress and set her nerves at ease. 

It was over too quickly. She didn't remember liking it so much, the swell of his warm lips pressed against her forehead. But now she did.

"Better?" He whispered, detecting the gentle relief from her. 

"Yeah." 

He nodded and retreated back to himself, lifting his arms away from her and settling back to his own space, staring at the ceiling. Rey cursed her wandering eyes again, running down the length of his chest of its own accord, cataloging the collection of moles that littered his torso like constellations, and continuing south to drink in the sharp jut of his hipbones peeking from underneath the wraps. 

She felt more naked than he was. She swung to the other side of the bed even if it felt like being physically cut in two, and faced the dull white of the wall. The light of the midmorning sun cast long shadows across the room, throwing them against the door; Rey's fingers were clammy. Kylo Ren spoke again. 

"I am delighted you are feeling better."

"Y-yeah." 

He didn't comment on the falter of her voice. The cushion dipped and the duvet pulled slightly past her bent arms as he turned around. Even turned away from him, the swelter of his golden eyes made the small hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. "Thank you." He breathed out. 

She flipped herself back around against her better judgment. Her arms screamed bloody murder but she ignored it.

"For what?"

Kylo looked down on himself, studying his human body past the high mound of his long nose. His hands pulled up higher and he studied them almost methodically, turning it around and tracing the light clefts of skin down his blunt nails and the jut of his knuckles. "You have restored me to a form I have long forgotten." 

"Is that bad?" She asked carefully. 

He moved, not quite touching her, a little closer. "No." 

"Okay." 

He nodded and then resumed his staring contest with the ceiling. 

They were content and quiet and civil with each other, close by but not doing anything overt. Long, dragging silence blanketed them and for a while, only Kylo's steady breathing was the sound in the room. She mustered up all the courage she had within her and asked him in a voice barely above a whisper: "Kylo, will you kiss me again?" 

He didn't respond or swivel his head in her direction like she thought he might, or look incredulous at her request. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on the plaster above their heads. She was suddenly more embarrassed than before. She was just about to wave it off, to just tell him to forget it when his voice rang out in the room as slow and calculating as ever.

"If I do, will it remove the redness?" 

"Redness?"

Thick fingers fluttered against one high cheekbone and lightly hovered to his collarbones. "You are reddening from here to here. It is very disconcerting." 

"Kylo," she couldn't help but chuckle. 

"I am worried." Kylo said the word carefully, cradling it at the tip of his tongue before letting it out. "Will it?"

"What?"

"Will it remove the redness if I were to kiss you once more?" 

"It won't." She sighed. He turned to her, staring blankly into her expectant eyes. She licked a wet trail against her lips out of nervousness. Kylo's eyes fell instantly to the small path of wetness it left on her lips and looked back up at the color in her cheeks.

"Then why should I kiss you?"

"Because," she sighed again, trying to find the right words. Eventually, she just resolved with telling him the truth. "Because I want to know what it feels like to finally kiss you."

Like she expected, there was only curiosity in his eyes, no urge to laugh at her, or still with embarrassment at her request. There wasn’t even lust. It was just him, his curious nature and his warm, gentle fingers and his deep, golden eyes. Before she could stop herself, she was pulling his face down and closing her eyes.

Everything was well worth it, of course. As Kylo heaved a sigh and their lips finally molded with each other’s.

* * *

 

Bazine owed every nick, every scar, every wound, and every gash that marked her skin to her courage, to her strength. She had earned each one; prided herself for all of it. The smell of burning flesh shattered her senses. It was everywhere, blood sizzling and evaporating quickly as she whimpered weakly in his claws. She had no doubt the spell would work and had no doubt that the Demon would undo it. But what she hadn't prepared for, what she hadn't quite expected, was the manner in which they had fixed the problem. It was the nature of the solution that plagued her thoughts, filled her with anger, and now, the solution might very nearly kill her.

It was supposed to only make their connection more pronounced, supposed to catch the Witching Council’s attention and let them do all the work. A banished Witch banding with a cursed Demon; they were a walking criminal act. If the attacks didn’t kill them, surely at least one Grigori would have reported the Celestial Dissonance back to the Council and it will all be dealt with a swift hand.

But she’d horribly underestimated her victims. Horribly. Now she was horribly paying for it.  

Hux had long past forgotten he had any patience in his bones. He'd been waiting so long. She had been, too, she thought grimly. Every day she paraded within the Human Realm as that blasted brown-haired woman, she felt like she was falling in step with beings that didn't mind what she was. She'd taken the girl and slaughtered her soul, shape shifting in her body and proceeding with the plan. 

It was the most wonderful feeling to  _be_  someone. She had thought for a second, that perhaps these achievements she had under Hux would make her feel more like she belonged. A small part of her even rejoiced in the fact that Rey had treated her like her own, a small part she would never admit to anyone.

But Hux had messengers and hands and eyes everywhere, and the news of Rey and Kylo Ren's full and quick recovery after the spell made the entire Demon Realm cower under the heat of Hux's anger. Bazine was the direct recipient. 

She didn't beg. No. She would die before Hux could get a word of pleading from within her. He cackled thickly, and tightened his claws around her, hearing her thoughts with ease. "You said," he groaned. "That this will work." 

"It—had—" she kept her hands firmly away, lifted up past her head. The fire burned a red, bloodied path past her leather robes, melting skin with black, thick fabric. When she swallowed, it was a mix of fear and blood. 

"But now, Kylo Ren is  _Human_ —" he traced one solid, sharp claw against the side of her face, leaving a thin trail of the same searing heat that split her skin open and made her eyes screw closed. "And it is all your  _fault_." 

"I have anticipated—"

"What? That you would fail me?" He chuckled, throwing her across the darkness. Worse than hitting solid marble, she plunged into a void of darkness, shouting and trying to desperately clutch at her flesh, once whole now only a disintegrated amalgamation of skin and leather. She shrieked painfully when a powerful tug wound around where she was still bleeding, pulling her back up and nearly snapping her in two. She held up valiantly. Hux had total control of this realm-space, and he was a Demon that reaped the benefits of Schadenfreude. 

Bazine cried out as she hit the cold, hard surface of the marble floor, slapping a hand against its polished sheen and watching as her flesh sputtered blood. The pain made the nerves in her temple budge, rendered her hips immobile. Hux was looking down at her with a barely controlled fury, precariously dancing behind a pretense at scolding her. 

She stubbornly held her ground. She shuffled her feet together and stood up with one leg supporting all her weight. She spat a thick drop of saliva and phlegm, wiping a bloodied arm across her lips. It left an ugly horizontal red stain on her face. Hux didn't like, so he swung one arm wide. It had been too late to dodge it. He sent her flying across the space again, bellowing a loud whistle and sending his low-level demons to catch her and finish her off. 

The sound of her breathless, near-death laughter made him turn around. She was being torn apart at the elbows, pulled apart from her toes to her thighs, tugged painfully by her blood-crusted white locks—and still she was laughing. 

"What would you still do without me, Hux?" 

"I am a Master of this Realm!" He growled. One lesser demon had managed to uproot a particularly large chunk of her hair. She winced. 

"I can break your damn treaty, demon!" She huffed from another painful uprooting. One other demon was in the process of plucking one eye out. 

Hux's eyes gave no indication of relenting. "You have done nothing but disappoint me."

"Have I never delivered?"

"Kylo Ren is  _Human_."

"And the treaty is still standing, isn't it? What are you going to do, Hux?—"

"— _Kill her!_ —"

"You're going to march up there against the Supreme Leader's wishes and get yourself killed, won't you? Because without me, you are just an  _overshadowed_  demon—agh!" Her right leg came off with a sickening pop, her own blood spurting out of a gaping wound and spritzing on her face in a red spray. Still, she was undeterred. 

"You're afraid, Hux—"

"— _Enough_ —"

"You know you need me more than you think you do. If you kill me now, you lose  _everything_ —"

"That is enough!"

"It won’t be long now. The Council will know of them and we won’t even have to do a single thing. Kylo is a walking beacon of power; a piece that doesn't belong.” She wheezed. “I can break it, Hux. But now that I'll be dying, your chance will go  _kaput!_ " She laughed, one arm dismembered. Hux let out another noxious howl and dismissed lesser demons. 

"You will break the treaty or face my wrath,  _half-demon._  Consider yourself warned."

* * *

 

If Rey were to choose between a gym instructor with a rigorous diet, a well-established lawyer, or a club bouncer that intimidated more than entertained fights, she would have to say Kylo Ren in his human form was a little bit of everything. His wide, defensive stance told her he was not the kind anyone should mess with. The expansive amount of knowledge he had accessible should she ask for it, told her that he could answer everything with the dismissiveness of someone who's know them for a long time. And the taut, pulled muscles of his arms and the firm curve of his ass certainly told her that he was strength sculpted into a relic of something that was once Human. 

She slapped herself. Hard. Across the cheek.

Breakfast. That was what Kylo Ren had stood for this morning. He was hungry. She decided that perhaps, he was still a little bit of a cat, in that sense that he was pretty much shameless in the way he walked around her apartment; naked as the day he was born. The rest of their morning was spent with more of him in her mind as he untangled the slight residue of the mind spell in the slim corners of her mind, his body engulfing hers where he laid beside her, arms wound around her hips, forehead pressed against hers. The relief was instant, coursing through her veins, making her feel light-headed. And he’d kissed her again, deep and slow. If she didn’t stand up, there would have been far more kissing. And far more.. other things.

She couldn’t let that happen. Not when she still wasn’t sure how the hell _he’d_ suddenly turned Human from trying to help _her_.

She acted like a ridiculous schoolgirl, looking over her shoulder if he so much as stomped—his steps were hard and heavy—around the living room. Eventually, after nearly cutting her finger off while staring at the elegant curve of his buttocks, she decided he had to seriously wear something so his testicles weren't moving around. She hurriedly marched back towards her room, rummaging in her closet for something,  _anything_ , that could possibly fit his size. 

There was nothing, of course. Rey didn't steal clothes for six-foot-five men with thick broad shoulders and muscular thighs. So she moved back to the kitchen only to find him standing beside the stove, staring blankly at the dark jutting metal. She shuffled quietly beside him, the press of her feet against the floorboards the only other sound aside from his breathing. She pulled an apron from one of the cupboards and beckoned him close with stilted movements. He leaned his head forward easily, as Rey wrapped the rounded string around his neck and pulled the rest of fabric down without touching his skin. She turned him around and forced herself not to look at the dimples on his lower back.

She furiously pulled the string tight and moved away from him. She planted her forehead against her table with a dull thud. How can this be any more awkward?

The acute feeling of his angular body pressed against her back told her it already  _was_  awkward. She jumped in his arms, trying, but failing at this little game of not touching the Demon. She huffed. Kylo Ren wrapped one arm around her and kept her in place, while the other smoothed the tangled mess of her hair. She shivered. 

"Kylo." She said. 

"Hm?"

"What are you doing?"

His hold loosened at the sharp edge of her voice and then his arm fell away. "You are agitated." He stated simply. 

She pinched her fingers at the bridge of her nose. Kylo was still standing behind her, rooted in his spot as his face filled with worry for her. When she didn't say anything, he elaborated: "You held me the same way before and I had expressed my joy. Finn and Poe held you in the same manner. In their arms. The action was made to soothe you."

He looked at her face carefully, and then looked down on his large feet. "I apologize if I had done something out of turn."

She wasn't sure if she wanted him to walk out on her. He used to always just do that when she wasn't in the mood to be particularly touchy. But he just stood there, like a pale, unmoving tree, waiting for her to accept his apology. Rey sighed. Of course. He never did anything to her that she hadn't given permission herself. She had him to thank for that. 

He was just so unbearably  _attractive,_ evenwith his silken raven locks tangled and ratty. Before she could stop herself, she turned to him and reached up for his hair. Kylo's eyes widened in surprise, but leant forward obediently, quiet the whole time Rey eased out the knots in his hair. She let him go a moment later with a small sigh and ordered for him to sit down. His biceps pulled tightly against his shoulders as he did so, golden eyes flicking forward in her direction. Though the rest of him was Human, his eyes remained the same ungodly golden hue. She pulled her blanket closer around her. 

“How the hell are you..” she shook her head disbelievingly, gesturing in his general direction. “ _that_?”

He looked down on himself, fingers coming up to prod at his pebbled nipple. Rey colored. “Stop that.”

“I’m not entirely sure.” He admitted. “But I may have a theory.”

“Let’s hear it, then.”

“I suppose it has something to do with your willful acceptance of my being—cat or not, Human or Demon.”

"So, let me get this straight." She began. " _I_  turned  _you_  Human because of my  _acceptance?_ "

His eyes were filled with as much disbelief as she did but knew nonetheless that this was important for her to understand. He was intuitive like that, attentive to what she needed and willing to give it. 

"Yes." 

"And that was why I was able to touch you during the time you weeded out this.. mind bomb from my head?" 

"Yes." 

Rey sighed, setting her hands down against the table, staring at him despite the intensity in his gaze that made her hair stand on end. "I still don't get it."

"A Demon achieves equilibrium and understanding with a Mortal once the Mortal decides that the Demon is worthy of his or her trust." 

“But that’s still a theory?”

“It would do well for us to at least believe in something. Would you rather let it go unexplained?”

"So," she looked at the polished wooden surface of her table. "You're saying this happened because I fully trust in you now?" 

He nodded. "Do you not?" 

"I do, Kylo." She answered hurriedly. She didn't want him to think otherwise, somehow. It seemed like a monumental change in both of them, this newly established trust. His mind was the most open it had been ever since their first meeting, now it even seemed to be pulling her close, like he suddenly never wanted her to leave his consciousness. 

"Why didn't you just change back into a Demon?" 

"This Realm will not allow it. It would violate the rules of the treaty. So I am transformed into a version of me that is far less sinister. Far more acceptable."

"Okay?—" 

"Why?" He interjected, not quite mockingly, just curiously. "Does this form bother you? Do you loathe it?"

They both knew the answer to that was so she suspended that line of conversation. 

"I'm just.. having a hard time wrapping my head around it all. You were just a cat before, barely taking up space in my apartment and now you're  _massive_. You don't even fit in my—" bed? The last word eluded her. She thought maybe that was better, let the sentence hang so she didn't have to look at the slow rise and fall of his chest and think back to the moment it was pressed against hers. 

Kylo was reading her thoughts, it was more inescapable now. The bond was very real and very much filled with energy at the new sense of oneness between them, igniting small flames if their fingers so much as end up a hair's breadth away from each other. Kylo's eyes moved up to her stained cheeks, and spoke in a clarity that still sounded genuinely amused and confused. "Don't be afraid. I feel it, too."

Rey bit her lip. She looked back at the sink. Milk won't be enough for him now. "What are we gonna do?" 

"I don't know." He replied. "But I would like to stay beside you." 

She snorted. Of course he was going to have to stay. Where would he go now? "I'd like that, too." 

She bit her tongue as the words tumbled out of her mouth. Kylo's lips tugged in the barest hint of a smile—a real smile. The kind that made her smile back at him. The kind that made her fingers tremble. And then in the relative quiet of the room, just as she was turning to chop her vegetables, he said carefully, "I like the color in your cheeks." 

"Shut up." She mumbled embarrassedly. 


	13. Belonging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now folds the lily all her sweetness up,  
>  And slips into the bosom of the lake.  
>  So fold thyself, my dearest, thou, and slip  
>  Into my bosom and be lost in me.” --Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal, Lord Alfred Tennyson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm uploading this at work like a boss. Lmao. Sorry about being absent for a while. Got a job on top of school. Everything's on a deadline so, yeah. Enjoy this chapter! :)

Upon the Council's approval and Leia's guidance, he traversed the boundaries that isolated the Realms apart from each other. It had seemed so long ago. He'd been on the Mortal Realm five years, trying to make sense of the way its world moved and trying to understand the Humans long enough to understand how to mimic them. It wasn't long before he got into the swing of things. Though he wasn't an earth native, Humans operated on a routine that almost didn't break.

Humans were an easy race. They had no wars, seemed to be in control of themselves very often, and were very oblivious to the world of mischief that lied beyond their understanding. 

He'd remembered being first assigned to this section of the Realm five nostalgic years ago. The Humans caught wind of rumors that suggested that Witches and Wizards scouted the streets looking for trouble. It wasn't true, of course, but Humans were nothing if not cautious. So they ordered every business establishment, small time, big time, those mobile diners he'd see roaming around the streets and selling burgers, to strictly require birth certificates. And other documents that proved they were of this world. The Council anticipated all of it, of course. He came equipped with all manner of support to the charade that he was a true Human living in the true Human world. Even getting the help of an older Grigori that was longtime friends with Leia to pretend to be his mother. 

The first few weeks were spent trying to set his feet firmly within the Realm. And once he'd found a suitable living space, he hunted for a job, using his pure unadulterated charm. He'd charmed his way into a decent, low-profile job. One that didn't have much in the way of compensation but allowed him to slip out carefully in the night, or appear in a fixed point somewhere in the city the Council ordered so he could report. 

For years it had been nothing but small cases of lurking Demons terrorizing thugs in back alleys, half demons having light fun with eating stray dogs in the streets. No disconcerting attacks that drew blood on the pavement or reported unexplained pregnancies from woozy women after long nights at the bar. 

Not until  _her_. 

He'd somehow sunk deeper into this other world quickly, meeting someone and finding love, but  _still_  doing his duty. Leia had chastised him about the relationship, had reiterated him the gravity of his presence in the Human Realm, but, just like he thought, and hadn’t stopped him from pursuing the interests of his heart. He delivered. He reported. Consistently, wherever he was, and Leia could find no fault in that. After the Grigori’s fallout with their Heavenly charges, the Witches took them in and ordered them the same task they had been created for: to keep the Humans away from otherworldly powers. Under the Witches’ guidance, other Grigori like him were able to live with more freedom than they did under the Archangels’ commands. Though Human relationships were still forbidden, the Witches were more willing to turn a blind eye as long as they did their job.

It was by some odd stroke of luck that falling in love with a Mortal lead him to a Witch that his Druid had been particularly interested in. Unsurprisingly, the choice was the Council's, if only so they could try to dissuade Leia about her chosen one obsession. This did not go as planned, of course. She tasked him of watching over her, of keeping a close eye and reporting back to her regardless of what he’d last heard from the Council. That the investigation would soon meet its end.

The area had once been peaceful, he knew because he’d stayed there three years, acclimatizing himself with its Symphony. Here he took a job as a comic book shop clerk, brought Marina—the Grigori they’d convince to pose as his mother—along, and set out to continue his task.   

The attacks kept happening at night within the second year Rey stayed within the Realms, but each time it was fended off. He'd never walked too close to see who it had been that was helping her. He always assumed that she was doing it herself. If her Witching violations were any indication, she was a strong Witch, too reckless for her own good. He knew she'd killed someone and was therefore labeled a criminal. But all things considered, there was no way she deserved her persistent attackers. Until a strong mind spell left him stricken: someone had touched Rey’s mind. That someone wasn’t Human.

True enough, Druid Leia communicated with him but with new information independent from the mind attack he’d been thinking about. Information that startled him, and nearly forced him to believe the prophecies that circled around endlessly within the Academy like talk about the weather. _If_ he weren’t too busy lecturing himself about not realizing it with his own eyes sooner. The cat with Rey had clearly been Celestial, he’d managed to pick up that much from his visits to her apartment. The eyes were a dead giveaway. Which had, in retrospect, been the reason he was insistent on that second visit. But he wasn’t ready for the revelation that he was, in fact, a Demon. Perhaps he’d become rusty with attuning himself with the Symphony that it had totally slipped his grasp. Nonetheless, he berated himself for not knowing sooner. He could have saved Leia a world of trouble with the Council.

He'd been furious, angered that those pesky Demons didn't respect, didn't  _follow_  an agreement they'd _agreed_ on, when he was stopped abruptly. The Demon was that force, the _Dissonance_ that fended off her enemies and toppled her attackers over the edge of the fire escape stairs, the shadow that cornered her assailants in dark, back alleys while she slept. 

The prophecy didn't say anything about a Demon. It wasn't the way he remembered it. But he knew from experience that something so coincidental like that didn't happen for nothing; it didn't change a hundred-year old prophecy at the last minute simply because it had been a fickle prediction to begin with. 

He suddenly realized the desire from Druid Leia to proceed with her investigation, even without the Council's support. He nodded at his resolve, eager to continue his task. 

He would need to apologize to Finn tonight for running late during dinner but he smiled nonetheless. At least Finn was always there to keep him grounded. 

* * *

 

Forty-seven. 

That was the number of deep-breaths she'd taken in vain, the number in which she stopped and opened one eye to peek at him. Kylo Ren was, like she'd thought he would, was every bit the cat that she'd co-existed with once before. It was like a strange irony twisting in on itself. A Demon forced into a cat form, and a cat forced into a Human vessel. She squirmed slightly from her spot on the floor at the fit of the apron on his body. The thick slab of his torso crowded the top of the apron, the scratchy, stiff material against his abdomen pulled abnormally tight, and the rest of the fabric pooled in between his legs, hiding the appendage she'd blushed for before. 

Kylo Ren's monotonous voice made her jump out of her skin. 

"Are you at peace?" 

She fumbled with her position on the floor. She had long abandoned her straight posture in the process of staring at him. Again. For the nth time that day. She bit her lip. 

"Am I what?" 

He kept his eyes closed. "Are you at peace?" 

She leant back and pulled her spine straight indignantly. "Of course I am."

"You are staring at me."

"Am not."

"You have been since I have emerged out of your bedroom this morning." 

She stared at the the little dents in the otherwise perfect plaster of her living room, and settled on the languid rotation of the fan overhead. The floorboards creaked under Kylo, as he shifted his weight and shuffled closer, but not close enough to touch her. He stared at the ceiling fan, too, with a disinterested gaze. 

"We should get you something to wear." She exhaled, and then, deciding his proposition to meditate had not helped her embarrassment dissipate into thin air, she stomped towards her bedroom and left him there on the living room floor. 

When she came back, he was sprawled on the floor, arms spread eagle and eyes closed. His black hair fell in thick tendrils that surrounded his head like a halo and his legs were pulled far apart. The apron was still covering up a decent amount of his nonchalant nudity, though the fabric pulled up at his broad shoulders and reached only precariously a little past where she knew his balls would be. She ambled back to the counter and sat on top of it, swiping a few pieces of tissues and unwashed forks and coffee cups. He peeked at her, from where he was. She was sure she looked upside down to him. 

She pondered the changes of this beautiful new specimen in her house, an imitation of a being so familiar to her and yet so different. How would they lounge around the couch together, now? After her shift at the coffee shop on weekdays or after particularly strenuous and nerve-wracking spell casting sessions? A lot of things would change, that much was obvious, though a large part of her was glad that Kylo Ren was actually Human now. She'd always thought about that small boy in the vignetted, forgotten memory. His brown eyes, half closed and crinkled from laughter, a wild, unruly mop of black hair moving in the wind. She smiled despite herself. Kylo Ren took notice of her introspection. 

"Have you thought about that child a lot?"

Her eyes landed heavily against his, looking down at him from her spot at the countertop.  _That child_ , he said, as though he was someone else other than  _that child_. 

"I have. Because it's you." She countered, pulling her legs up against her chest.

"It  _was_  me." He corrected, palms slamming softly against the floor as he sat up, looking every bit terrifying with the way his head loomed to the side and the way one golden eye peeked at her from his shoulder. "Now it's not anymore." 

"Are you that ashamed of who you once were?" She thought back to that small version of him, the little boy who'd flushed and cried and bawled in his mother's arms. And then she remembered that memory in the woods, the face of her personal mentor, she'd realized, and that familiar elegance that the brown-haired lady exuded even in her distress. 

Kylo Ren's reply sounded distant, as if he was picking up an answer from a collection of other answers he'd had stored for that very question. "No."

"Then why do you push it down?" It was the same desperate tone she used when she was trying to convince him during that night at the tub that she did think their quasi-relationship was special. And it was.  _He_  was. For her. Or she would have pushed him away when he kissed her, would have ordered him to stop once the shards of her tattered mind mended back together. She would have insisted on recovering alone, but she accepted his help.

"Because it is a prohibited emotion." His words were careful, measured. His neck craned towards her and he stretched out one hand for her to take. Her toes met the floorboards soundlessly, her baser instincts—or maybe it was the bond—insisting her to draw closer to him for comfort. 

She let his hands settle at her hips, let him drag her down with him and seat her at the fold between his strong thighs. In return, he let her ask. "Why?" 

Kylo Ren's brow furrowed in a sorrow she'd never seen before. She turned to him on instinct, twisting so that his arms fell aside and balancing on her knees so she could cradle his face in her hands. Her fingers were thin and slight and tan against the pale assortment of skin and constellation against his face. Finally, he spoke with a desperation that preceded him, in a look that bared his soul entirely to her. "Because I am not ashamed for  _not_  wanting it. I am ashamed because I  _still_  want it so much." 

"What did it feel like?" She whispered against his downy lips, the slight heat of the setting sun casting a forty-five degree angle behind him. Kylo made no move to press their lips together. He just breathed through his nose and trailed gentle fingers across her flanks. Unable to quite help it, she pressed a chaste kiss at his philtrum, inhaling and exhaling in time with him. "To be Ben?" 

No smile greeted her back, no tell-tale sign of that small tug in his mouth that signaled the start of a plaguing, roguishly handsome smile that still made her curse herself loudly for blushing. Instead long, blunt fingers tightened around her waist, and the familiar nudge of his mind seeped through to her mind, permeating every corner, building into a small pulsing memory that flickered excitedly in the forefront of her mind. When words were hard to come by, and emotions were hard to verbalize, this was how they communicated. And somehow, even with both their eyes closed, even when their lips and bodies were kept at a relatively safe distance, this was the most intimacy they ever shared. Even if she wasn't an undulating mess of limbs beneath him; even if they weren't trying to  _touch_  this connected them on a level of openness that Rey had never experienced from anyone before. 

 

 _That child_  was running about in a field of flowers and tall grasses that seemed to have no end, the horizon a blurred stretch of land she couldn't see, painted only by the waning tangerine streaks of the sunset. Only one other person was there, rummaging through the grasses with hands that looked old and brittle with toil and hard work. The child laughed despite himself, despite trying to hide. It was a joy that closed her throat up painfully, a sound of delight that had once been there, vibrant and overflowing, now reduced to a drought that never quite regained its exuberance. 

Sometime between the quick succession of stomping around the field and calling out that beautiful forgotten name, the child laughed as the grizzled man found him hiding, crouched behind a tree in the middle of the field. The man swung the child up overhead and placed him on his back, encouraging him to open his arms to the breeze and— _relax, kid. I won't let you fall._

That child had been scared, puckering his lips into a pout when he looked down and thought he might fall. But the man's hands and fingers were warm reminders of safety against his small thighs. So he did as he asked and opened his arms to the gently moving breeze bending the grasses and howling past his ears. 

 _"When you get older, kid, you're going to keep your mother safe, okay? You know how she is with her work."_ The man's laughter was a calming balm. The child looked absently at the top of the man's head, counting the graying hairs there he hadn't noticed before and declared grudgingly.  _"Mother doesn't like me. Because I'm not like Uncle Luke."_

 _"Well,"_ he conceded, bouncing slightly on his feet to keep him from sliding down unceremoniously _. "You're not. Because you're_ my _kid, not Luke's."_

The man all but laughed again, the child, still scowling, but not quite able to help it, joined in the gruff delight of his father. His small fingers found the man's eyelids, covering it softly.

 _"Stop that, Ben. You want your old man to fall?"_  He was still laughing, bracing himself on one outstretched and bent leg to keep from losing his balance. 

 _"Relax, kid,"_  the child began, a tentative smile emerging on his lips.  _"I won't let you fall."_

 

The lake was a small body of water beside their comely little house that sat amongst the meadows, surrounded by flowers from one side to the other. There were fishes swimming about in the water and most of them weren't for consumption. But the man laughed anyway, as they teased and elbowed like years and labels didn't separate them. It was a Human world thing. The fishing rod, the basking in the afternoon sun to catch seafood they wouldn't even be eating. But the child laughed happily along with the domestic silliness of it all, finding a spot on the shore just a little a ways from the dock. The spot directly beside the old man. 

 _"I used to do this a lot before, you know. But not in a place like this."_ He stated gruffly, picking a few sand particles in between his fingers and handing the child a wriggling piece of worm. The child recoiled in disgust, gangly limbs jutting out as he scrambled to his hands and knees. 

 _"Father!"_  He admonished. The old man shrugged, fetching his fish hook and stabbing the moving worm with it. 

 _"And now, we'll try this together properly. Come on. That Witch stuff doesn't suit a Solo."_ The man announced. The child hesitated, and then nodded, and then sat back down. A storm of emotion engulfed the lanky, dark-haired teenager fitted with robes that didn't quite look right on him. His eyes were a brilliant, alert shade of brown as he listened to his father's instructions, all the while offering light commentary. 

They joked and bit snarky remarks about each other and settled side by side in the relative peace, in the relative quiet, fishing when there was no need. The child, now more aptly deemed a teen, shifted in his seat slightly, before standing up unceremoniously and yanking the thick billowing robe up over his head and bunching it up and throwing it in the lake. It met the water with a dull splash. The man grinned. 

_"Tough day."_

_"Why can't I be more like you, Father?"_ He sounded like he was begging the question. The light squeak of his voice belied a low thunder of emotion.

 _"Because you're not."_ The man replied sullenly after a while.

 _"But you said that I was_ your _son. Why did you let them take me away to Uncle Luke?"_

_"It was your mother's decision, Ben. It was what was best for you."_

The child paced, shirtless, across the shore, the wet squelch of wet sand and the light crashing waves keeping him in a short-lived tranquil. _"They never asked. Mother never asked. She just made_ decisions _. And Luke never asked. He just looked and_ followed _decisions."_

The man sighed heavily, speaking of a weight in his heart he always carried around, echoing to a deep-seated sorrow that followed him wherever he went; heartbreak and anguish for his son. But he couldn't reply. The child was waiting for it, staring at him stare out into the lake with a pained expression. 

 _"You asked me. You always did."_ The child murmured.  _"But then you stopped. In the morning I was being taken away, you stopped asking about what I wanted and you let me go."_

_"It was the right thing to do."_

_"I was_ happy _—"_ his voice broke. _"I was content. I wanted to stay here. To stay beside you. To go on those adventures. To see the sights, live the stories you always spoke of. I only ever wanted to be with you, be your son, like_ you _said."_

He stormed off in the other direction, faltering in his steps, eyes welling up with pent up emotion—anger, sadness, disappointment, yearning—and then trudged back the path towards the old man. The light smattering of graying hairs on his head had spread. It told the child of all the time they had lost, of all the time he had spent away from the only other person who truly understood. 

_"It was all I ever wanted."_

_"It's not what you needed."_ The man was keeping his emotions hidden from the child, forehead creasing as he strained to look at the elusive horizon and the still waters of the lake. 

Hurt surged up inside the child, causing him to physically take a wide step back, head shaking in disbelief.  _"You said you'd be there. You promised—"_

 _"—It was the_ right _thing, Benjamin."_

But the child was already pumping his legs away, pushing past the pain and the hurt in his heart, neglecting the soothing colors of the flowers around him and moving away from his father, his colleague, his one and only true friend, his co-pilot, his best friend. Years later he would come to realize he'd pushed more than a physical distance between them. Years later he would see, he would regret, that they didn't quite gotten around to fishing for more fishes than they ever knew what to do with. 

 

* * *

 

 

"You loved him.."

She'd said it twice for the long, dragging seconds he'd sequestered his head against her chest. He still wasn't saying anything, letting the beat of her heart tide over the calming storm of his recollection. They were still at the center of the living room, Kylo was still sitting cross-legged and Rey was still kneeling in between the space between his folded legs. Her fingers ran through every lock of ebony hair with a softness that made him go slack in her arms. His lips grazed the small divot of skin between her collarbones, and kissed her there. She shouldn't have been so delighted that he was being so much more affectionate to her now that he was rewarded with more movable extremities. But she did. And she'd already blushed so much today, more than she had in her whole life. 

Finding the strength, and bearing down the inevitable urge to just keep him close, she finally pushed him slightly back. Though, he'd gone lax, he kept his weight from sagging his shoulders into dead weights against her fingers. His eyes fell on her hands, instantly, tracking the small movements of her dexterous fingers. He was avoiding her gaze, she could tell. 

"I still do." It was so quiet, perhaps too quiet, if she wasn't this attuned with his soul. 

"Why did you do it, then?" Perhaps she was asking too much from him for this part of the conversation and perhaps he knew that she was. But she risked it anyway, not quite succeeding with taking the pain out of his reply. 

"It had been a rash decision. And I had been hurting for a long time, training under my Uncle when I knew that it wasn't my fate." He took a deep steadying breath. "I hoped father would come back to whisk me away from my Uncle's silly goal to turn me into something I wasn't meant to be. He did come back and but he did  _nothing_. And the rest of the days dragged on, I changed while he was away, I changed so much. When he came back, I wasn't that young, gangly infant begging for his attention. He suddenly didn't know what to do with me, suddenly couldn't take me by the side of the lake, or hunt game with me in the woods." 

Kylo Ren's eyes held a whole world of pain he would never verbalize. "We drifted apart. I fell into the trenches of my hate and disappointment. I sunk every day. And the Supreme Leader found me there."

"And you followed him?" Rey asked quietly, fiddling with the apron string sitting against the pale skin of his pectorals. 

He nodded slowly, still watching her fingers. "There was nothing else for me to lose."

"You have a  _mother_ —"

"I've lost her first. When I started becoming less and less of the child she once loved."

She wished she could find the strength within her to reprimand him, but she couldn't. She took one long look at his face, contorted in more pain and suffering than she can imagine, and she couldn't. So she just held him close, hoping it can ease the pain a little. After a while he began to talk again. 

"My destiny has never been with my family. I had been different. My powers alienated me from my father and brought fear to my mother and my uncle." He recounted. "I do not belong with them." 

"So where do you belong?" 

His eyes settled into hers, those sad, sad eyes he'd never known reflected so much more of him on the inside, and rested the side of his head against her shoulder, the bridge of his nose buried on the crook of her neck. "Nowhere."

In that respect, Rey could somehow understand this aching hole deep in his chest. She'd never belonged either. She never belonged in the dark orphanage that took her in, never belonged to the few friends she'd made there before an eccentric old Wizard took her under his wing, never belonged even when she got there, where the man said she belonged. She was a deviant through and through, somehow sharing in the fate of being cursed for her powers. It was not the kind of curse that she'd broken him out of; it was the kind of curse one was born with. 

They were both cursed for being the way they were. And from that, she could understand, she could, that together they were connected even more than they already were by the bond, more connected than the heat of their bodies. Her reply was a soft, steady sound in the hollow of her throat, a semblance of the words he'd said before. "You belong to me." 

And then, in a desperate whisper, she pushed him back. Her fingers were small, warm appendages resting at the flat of his cheeks. "You are mine."

Kylo Ren took a deep breath. The small tug of a smile formed at the corner of his lips, but it trembled halfway, shaking a little in the middle and his eyes darted away. She smiled back anyway. "I am yours." He acknowledged and then looked back at her one more time. "I am yours." He said with more conviction. 

They strode into the kitchen hand in hand once it had all been over. It was surprisingly easy to fall back into the rhythm they had established when he'd been a cat. He still stared curiously at his food and threw her the occasional glance when he saw something particularly  _difficult_  to understand on his plate. By now, it was rare, considering he'd almost always eaten everything she prepared for him. What she noticed, though, was just how much she kept eyeing him from the corner of her eyes. As if he might break if she didn't watch him closely. He still carried that crestfallen expression on his face, and the Gehenna of sorrow he'd lived under for probably thousands of years. He lifted his head to look at her and only then had she realized that she'd been staring. 

"Is there something you would like to know?" He asked. 

"Huh? Uhm, no. I was just.." 

Another quivering smile rippled across his lips again. "Would you rather I was a cat again?"

"No." His eyes filled with mirth. She'd answered quickly. Too quickly, it seemed, if the amusement in his eyes were anything to go by.

"You like this form?" It wasn't a question. The smirk told her he tried to pass it off as one, but the monotony of it threw him off. She was not fooled.

"Yes." She tried to reply as indignantly as she could, drowning the thoughts of embarrassment flitting about in her head at his returning bravado. 

"Because I look desirable in it?" He still hadn't quite wiped off the need to attempt a grin, but it was getting better, looking smugger, and she can't allow that.

" _No_." She made herself look offended. Kylo Ren saw the attempt before she even squared her shoulders, feigning disapproval. She was blushing anew. "Because.. you can protect me better." She added, for good measure.

The second it left her mouth, she regretted it. "You know I will." Him averting his gaze wasn't from her response, then, it was about his relentless desire to protect and keep her safe at all costs that turns him into a hard impassable brick wall of conviction. She reached one hand out to cover over his at the table. His forefinger twitched, and when he looked up again, one stray lock of raven hair found its way between his eyes. 

"And I'll do the same." 

He looked at her small hand, blinking, and very slowly, nudged it back with his knuckles to slides his fingers between the gaps. He held her in place with his hold and his eyes. It was the reassuring squeeze he gave, that charming hint of a smile he wasn't quite so familiar with yet that bolstered her confidence the next time they encountered trouble. 

As if on cue, though, the loud clang of metal against what sounded like flesh jarred them out of their reverie. Kylo, on his feet in a flash, swiveled his head towards the closed windowsill, striding forward in short stomps towards it. Rey grabbed a knife sitting just at the bottom of the sink and huddled beside him. His arms were stretched out and slightly bent in front of his chest for some kind of shield. Rey twirled the knife in her palm and nodded when Kylo looked at her before sliding the window open. 


	14. Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s strange how we say things take place,  
>  as if occurrence were a location—  
>  the dark between two shores,   
>  for instance, where for a little while  
>  we’re on solid ground.”   
> Night Ferry, Mark Doty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good god! It took me a while to post again. I am so, so, sorry. I actually kept telling myself, "Okay, you'll be posting the story up later once you get home. DON'T FORGET" but lo and behold, I always do. I hope y'all are still reading and enjoying the story so far. :D

_Thud_.

The body—slumped forward and shivering wildly—ascended beyond the threshold of the window and landed in an ungraceful heap of midnight blue fabric. His hair was a curly mess of locks, sprinkled with a light dusting of snow and smelling strongly of car emissions. Kylo Ren toed the side of his body hard enough to get him to flip around. Rey brought the knife up, preparing to strike—

"What the—" she nearly dropped the weapon on her own feet. " _Poe_?"

They exchanged a quick confused glance. At least Rey did. Kylo's shoulder muscles tensed and his fingers curled into tight fists out of instinct. His knee-jerk reaction to anything that might come across as a threat. But that was all he'd done and she was thankful. 

The man—who really  _had_  been Poe—blinked his eyes open, long, dark eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks, hints of snow stuck in between the delicate strands. He made no move to stand up until his eyes focused on Rey's contorted face. She was pretty sure her confusion was playing out the way he didn't want it to. It was the way Poe looked like when he was failing at trying to make Finn understand something during one of their debates. His eyes also found the hostile furnace of Kylo's intense gaze, and winced instantly. He let out a soft sigh and gingerly tried to sit up. Kylo growled low in his throat, a residual habit from when he'd been a cat, widening his stance and readying his fists. Rey ordered him to stand down with a small movement of her wrist. Poe managed to get up finally, leaning on the wall beside the window and the closing it completely. 

"Crap," he began, the sound a hollow imitation of the way he usually sounded. His throat was dry. He'd been out for a while. "I was hoping to make an entrance." He glanced dismissively at the window and then chuckled. 

He turned around and tried to reach Rey in a crushing embrace. Kylo's hard knuckles dug into the side of his face with a fiery passion. He took two wide steps back, bracing his back against the wall. 

" _Kylo_!" Rey admonished, horrified. She shuffled closer to him to examine his cheek after the punch. Kylo grunted behind her. She ignored it. 

"Zeus _almighty_!" 

Poe worked his jaw slowly, wincing every once in a while after the pain. Hurt flashed inside his mind, Rey picked up on it with ease. But she couldn't quite apologize on Kylo's behalf just yet, she, too was being cautious. 

"Your mother was right." Poe said tightly, running his blunt fingers across his jaw at his stubble. "You do pack quite a punch—ow."

"My  _mother_?" Kylo bit back contemptuously. His body sprang up again, like a piece of elastic pulled at the edges, ready to snap. Rey reached one hand up to stop him from doing anything rash. He didn't listen of course, but he stayed where he was, trying to gain entrance in the man's mind to no avail. Rey was keeping him out. He made a face. Rey turned back to Poe, whose cheek still looked like it hurt. The punch just narrowly missed his cheekbones.

"Do you work out? There's no way you can punch like that and not work out. Oh—hey, princess." He said it airily, like he'd just seen her there all of a sudden. Kylo took the window of opportunity to land another blow on the side of his face. This time, his stony knuckles collided with the side of his lips, the force cutting a little wound on his bottom lip. 

"Son of a—" Poe howled.

" _Stop it_!" Rey screeched angrily, shoving Kylo Ren a few steps back before coming back to inspect the tear of Poe's skin. 

"Show yourself." A low guttural sound rumbled from behind her. Kylo Ren was moving back beside Rey and ignoring the anger she was practically slamming against his mind.

"Poe, what are you doing here?"

" _Show yourself_!"

"Tone it down, tiger, will ya? What's wrong with you?" He turned to Rey. "What's wrong with him?"

She sighed, reaching out to touch his naked arm without looking. She knew he was there. He was so undeniably warm and firm under her fingertips. "He's trying to figure out if you're Bazine." She laughed internally at the image she was making, rubbing Kylo Ren's elbow and easing out his defensiveness, at how it must look like to Poe. Poe was too preoccupied with his jaw to notice, but he perked up at the mention of Bazine's name. 

"What? Oh—at the bar. That was her. Shit." He shucked off his wet topcoat and folded it in his arms. "There's no way you could miss her. Brown skin, white hair—"

“You _know_ her?” Rey reared back.

"She  _shape shifted_." Kylo cut in, stepping closer once more. Rey's hand fell on his broad chest to stop him. She leveled him with a glare to stand down, one that brooked no argument. He relaxed hesitantly. When she looked back at Poe, he was already throwing bemused glances between her and Kylo. 

As if remembering himself, he blinked quickly and rolled his sleeves up. "Into what? Huh. She's getting stronger." His laughter could have fooled anyone, but Rey knew better than to be fooled by it.

"Jessika." She said carefully, watching, surprised, as a fleeting look of horror and something else descended over his face. One second later, it was gone, replaced by his impenetrable mask of smugness and faked bravado. 

"That's my ex." He shook the snow out of his locks, avoiding Kylo and Rey's curious gazes. Kylo's face looked more lost, of course. He didn't know what that meant. But Rey felt the hard acrid nudge of bile against her throat. "So that's where she went."

Kylo tensed under fingers. " _Went_? What do you mean  _went_?" She asked. 

Poe found Kylo's eyes in one rare moment. A knowing looked passed between them, before Poe's eyes flitted back down to Rey. "When a shape shifter takes a Human vessel for more than a few days, the Human soul is corrupted and the body is destroyed from the inside out." 

He didn't say it, Kylo didn't say it, but she knew what the short gasp that escaped her throat meant. How what Poe left unsaid was still made more sense to her. Poe was quick to deflect the rumbling horror in the corners of Rey's distant mind, turning to Kylo said, and adopting a practiced arrogance. "Your mom misses you, by the way." 

Kylo hissed. "I don't  _care_."

"Mother?" Rey looked up. "What are you talking about?" 

Kylo was long past the point of caring. He replied without looking at her, "He's a Grigori.” Kylo announced, pointing to a winged pin attached on Poe’s breast pocket, its center cradling a single, open eye. “Sent by a Druid."

"A  _Druid_? What—"

"I'm starting to think you're not a Witch." He grumbled. Rey landed a loud slap on his cheek that flung his face to the side. Poe stifled a bubbling chuckle. 

"Oof. Walked into that one, didn't you?" 

"You," Rey grit out just as Kylo was recovering, cheeks red and eyes glowing with ire. "Behave." 

"And you," She spun on her heel, pointing an accusing finger at Poe. He raised his hands up in surrender. " _Talk_."

Poe stared at her for one solid minute, no more, no less, but it seemed to drag with the supposed enormity of his message. A Council member was in her house. A _Grigori_  under Kylo Ren's own  _mother’s_ orders. At some point, she should have known something like this would happen, now that the news of her destiny had reached Luke Skywalker. But a much larger part—the part that still basked nonetheless in the embarrassed silence of staring into the liquid hurricane of Kylo Ren turbulent eyes—didn't want it to. She just wanted to fall into Kylo Ren's arms and never ever face her destiny. Ever. 

"Any of you hear the prophecy of the chosen one? Well," he made a show of stretching his shoulder blades back before tilting his head from side to side. "Buckle up, it's about to get overused-trope-time—"

"We know of it." Kylo declared from the safe distance he'd put between him and Rey. 

"Huh. Makes my job easier, then."

" _Job_? You're a comic book shop  _clerk_."

Poe shrugged, feigning hurt. "By  _day_. By night, I am Poe Isaac Dameron of the Order of the Eighth, former Grigori for Servitor Gabriel, Archangel of Fire, now currently under Druid Leia’s command of the Witching Council, at your service." He pulled his undershirt aside to show his mark: a line work of flame drawn just a little to the left of his sternum. “See? Got the symbolic tat to prove it.” 

"But you're.. why didn't you say  _anything_?" Her eyes fell on the sodden piece of fabric bundled in his arm, finally noticing the crest embroidered on a silver-gilded breast pocket, just a little a ways from the glittering gold buttons engraved with the same emblem: the Hectates Wheel clasped at the center of the Serpent consuming itself.

"Oh, come on, Rey-rey. You know how it is with us. Classified and all that stuff. Sworn to secrecy unless deemed otherwise. Also, it wouldn’t help if Celestials and Demons figure out what I am, I mean, my job is already such a pain in the ass as it is." Poe offered her a charming grin in an attempt to alleviate her confusion. 

Kylo had been patiently listening in his spot at the floor, barely feeling the goose-pimpling of his skin against the cold winter night that still manage to seep through Rey's thick walls. "Until now." He supplemented. 

Poe winked at him. "Right you are, big boy." He eyed the couch in the living room, recognizing the tattered, thousand-year-old creases and tears of a spell book underneath the squat coffee table. "Now, if I could just direct you to the—" His gaze fell back on Kylo Ren, finally, finally noticing how odd he seemed to be in the space of Rey's house. And then his eyes filled with an amusement much more potent than the first. Rey knew that look. "Weren't you just a cat last week?"

"Things.. change." Rey replied lamely. 

Poe was unbothered with the unease that made them both look down lamely, and grinned. "Whatever happened, I'm not asking. Now come on, we have to talk." 

"What about?" 

Poe set his wet coat at his feet, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. "Mainly about the prophecy, but maybe I can throw in some effort into reuniting of the prodigal son back to his mother?"

The jab was thrown in front of Kylo Ren with a stare that dared him to bite the bait for Poe's amusement. He bit hard on it. 

"You insignificant little—" Kylo was furious, a churning storm of fire. 

" _Enough_! I am not letting anyone talk until the both of you stop being insufferable  _toddlers_." 

Poe flashed a look of genuine guilt, looking like his hand had been caught in the cookie jar. Kylo snorted grumpily, still not taking his eyes off of Poe. The way his shoulders jutted forward and his neck stretched made him look like a bull that was ready to charge. Rey ordered him to sit down by casting a quick look at the recliner. He followed hesitantly, but didn't say anything afterwards. Poe toed his topcoat on the floor, waiting for permission from her to speak again. 

"Talk.  _Now_." 

"Alright." Poe sighed, snaking one hand inside his breast pocket and bringing out what looked like a brooch carrying the same silver sigil of the Witching Council. She stared at it for a moment before Poe rose on his feet, the wet tips of his dress shoes hitting the coffee table legs dully. "You ready, princess?"

She lifted a tall brow curiously. "Yes..?"

Poe winced, more to himself, and straightened out the many creases of his slightly damp shirt. "I'm not." 

The inquiry died in her throat as smoke encased Poe's body from the heels of his shoes to the last curl of hair sticking out at the top of his head. It blazed around the edges, too, illuminated the sides of Poe's body in an orange-and-white light, circling at his elbows. The smoke continued to churn in on him and Rey had the sudden urge to reach out—Kylo's hand shot out faster than she could have noticed. He pulled her back beside him and held on tight throughout Rey's pleas to be let go. He kept looking at the violent plume of smoke and dust Poe was now becoming, an anticipation that broadcasted unease marring his stoic face. She turned to Poe once the tornado of gray wisps subsided, and saw him there standing like he'd been just 10 seconds ago. But now he had an iridescent glow around him, shimmering pieces of light stuck to the slight thatch of curls on his forearms and weaving in and out of his warm brown hair. 

His eyes, however, were an intense shade of white-hot nothingness. A blankness that shone nonetheless, like the thousand degree fire of Kylo Ren's fiery demon eyes. Poe moved then, in a very unlike-Poe way, and placed his palms at his waist. He was looking at Kylo Ren, too, somehow glowering more intensely than he'd done earlier. Kylo was glowering back. 

Everything was pretty much Poe; the hair, the tattered vest, the small cleft at his stubbled chin, and the dent of dark circles under his eyes that never seemed to quite go away. A woman's voice was the only different thing. A woman's voice that was coming out of  _Poe's_  mouth. A voice that said _that_ name with the heaviest emotion. 

"Ben." 

Kylo bared his teeth. " _Mother_."

"You have grown quite tall." It was the dismissive way in which the woman had said it that made her eyes flicker between them. Hearing it felt like the woman was saying something she'd known would be true, and Kylo was not pleased with it. This was his mother. A  _Druid_ , even, and she was talking to  _Ben_. Perhaps that's what this meeting _was_ about. An attempted reunion? 

Kylo Ren grunted his disdain for her assumptions, the woman commandeering Poe's body did the same. "Is this the girl you've managed to manipulate?"

"You are incorrect in that assumption." 

"Then what shall I assume?"

"She is a Purebred."

" _And_ a Witch." The woman fired back, cocking Poe's hip to the side and crossing his arms. "One who is of importance to the Council and the Druids." She looked at Rey, then, blinking Poe's eyelids and tracking his eyes up and down to where she'd been stuck standing in horror and intrigue.

"Your name, dear." The woman asked. 

" _Rey_."

"Shut up, Ben." 

"Rey." Rey repeated anyway. 

"You were banished from the Witching Realm for multiple Witch code violations and the murder of Arthur Gibbs, correct?"

Kylo flashed her a look of surprise, jaw clenching and hands fisting where he sat. He was angry at the accusation and not quite believing his mother. Rey looked at him hesitantly and tried to open up the memory of that one dreadful night during dark magic sword arts training. He slammed the connection down and wordlessly turned back to the possessed form of Poe. That conversation would have to wait.

Rey swallowed thickly. "I was, yes."

"And the Council has sentenced you into an exile until they decide whether to execute you or take your powers away from you, correct?" A slim, stern brow lifted. Kylo grinded his molars together, splintering the woolen fabric of the one-seater armrest with how tight his hands were clenching.

"She is to stay with her powers."

"That is not for me to decide, Ben."

"That- that is correct, too, yes." Rey answered. 

"And you know very well that you cannot return without being captured and being taken to the Council and facing an immediate trial, correct?"

Rey looked down on her socked feet, counting the little white polka dots scattered about the midnight blue backdrop. "That is correct, yes." 

"Then we have much work to do if we are going to avoid that trial." 

Kylo and Rey's heads swiveled painfully quickly in her—Poe's direction. " _What_?" Rey asked, bewildered. 

"You are needed by the Council." She stated, folding Poe's hands together at the small of his back, the lean back of his shoulders a move at disparaging Kylo more than Rey. " _Both_  of you. But not in the way they think. They’re much too pathetic to see it themselves, you see.”"

"What?" Rey asked again. " _Why_?"

"There is much to discuss about the prophecy. Poe was just sent to fetch you and be my vessel when I deliver the news myself."

"Why do you need  _me_  around?" Kylo Ren rumbled lowly, in that dangerous thunder of baritones and rich, deep-seated anger she knew too well now.

"I don't." The woman bit back. "But Rey does."

"Hold on." Rey found the strength to move from her spot. She circled the pulsing light of Poe's body and stared down into the pits of the fiery eyes that were not his. "You can't just expect me to go with you."

"Oh," the woman had the gall to laugh. It was a laughter that mocked. Rey fumed silently, trying to keep her temper in check. It'd been so long since she'd went on a power trip. The lure of it was a constant siren call in her mind. 

"I don't expect. I  _demand_. And I  _get_. Besides, we haven't much time." 

"Don't I get a say in this? Am I not given the option to resist?" 

" _No_." She replied back just as firmly as the words left Rey's mouth. The two women—people—stared each other down, willing both ends to look away and concede defeat. Rey wasn't giving up. Somehow this felt unfair. Having to be born as the chosen one created only one possible destiny for her, forced her choices to align with the building moment already written out for her to fulfill. It felt unfair that someone could dictate how she moved, too, how her decisions should be made. Whether or not she agreed or not didn't seem to matter. It was like being arranged to marry an old man she didn't care about, only to save a fortune she didn't need for the sake of someone else. 

"You can't possibly believe it would be that easy." Rey tittered fearlessly, mimicking the woman's—Poe's—crossed arms. 

"It would be if you knew the gravity of the role you will need to fulfill." 

"I _won't_ go with you."

"That is not up for debate." 

"Well," she grappled frantically for her self-control. The urge to lash out was digging into her ribs, clawing at her heart, coursing through her veins. Part of her knew this was important to do, important to entertain. That part was the one who bargained. "At least give me some time to think about it." 

"That is not up for debate, either." 

"I lived my life the way I wanted in the Human Realm when  _you_  decided my existence within _your_ planes was undignified.  _Give me time to think about it_." She countered, striding confidently to Kylo's side, whose eyes have grown the size of her small fists, bright with awe and wonder and pride. 

The figure taking over Poe's body finally faltered in its stance, arms falling to the sides. The shimmer faltered and began to fade away, the dusty sparkles of pale blue light melting away into the slightly chilly air. 

"A decision shall be made within three day cycles. There is no room for negotiation." Was the last she'd heard of the woman before Poe's brown eyes floated back into their places and the parts of his hair that had hovered fell gracelessly at the tops of his ears. He took in huge gulps of air, too, like he'd surfaced from a deep trench in the middle of the ocean. 

"I will never-" he panted, "get used to being her messenger." 

 

* * *

 

Poe came over the next day with two pairs of loose linen pants, one gigantic deep blue woolen sweater, a black v-neck shirt, beige khakis, and a pinstripe button-down dress shirt, and called it his old-geezer clothes. They were all at least three sizes up, had the wrinkle of clothes long left sitting at the bottom of a forgotten draw, and smelling of mothballs. But Rey doubted Kylo Ren would mind. She thanked Poe as she closed the door with her feet, laughing a little when he urged her not to clothe the beast in her apartment. "That apron-look works on him, sunshine. You sure you wanna hide his bodacious bod?" He'd said, wriggling his brows. Rey had dismissed him with a pat on the shoulder, just enough to make him step back, and excused herself to stride back inside the apartment. 

Kylo was in the kitchen when she returned, hunched forward and staring at the rotating piece of plastic inside the microwave oven. She'd decided a healthy meal of popcorn this morning, being the only other thing in her fridge that was edible. It had been two days since she'd been outside, a small amount to go out grocery shopping. And after the night she had, after another big decision a Council  _Druid_  this time had forced her into making, she wasn't quite sure she could leave with all these things inside her head. 

Kylo looked at her at the shuffle of cloth against her wooden table, jarring him from his curiosity with the microwave. "You can always say no." He said after a while. He'd been detecting the rippling tensions in her mind at the ultimatum Druid Leia had given her since last night. 

"I can't, Kylo." She sat down, tracing aimless patterns at the pile of clothes. "It's the Council."

"You will go into trial."

"What can I do? It was bound to happen. I was scheduled to be taken back someday. I just didn't think it would be now." 

Kylo Ren's attention swiveled back to the microwave as the small pops began to resound, eyes locking onto the rotating glass plate inside. The packaging swelled as more pops echoed out with the dull beeping of the device, lulling Rey into a quiet alcove of her mind. Only when Kylo turned back around and the sound of the pops alleviated did he reply. "How long were you deciding to wait until you tell me one of your own has died under your own hand?"

She winced at the implications of the accusation. Though there was nothing in Kylo's head that told her he was passing judgment on what she'd done, there was a faint sense of betrayal in his heart. One that ached because she failed to tell him before; the true reason she got kicked out. 

She inhaled a gulp of air quietly. "Didn't think it was important."

"It is now. The Council wants you back. You have three days to decide, 72 hours until they take you back should you not make the decision on your own."

"You suck at consoling people, you know that?"

"I am not consoling you." He replied, watching her soundlessly as she rounded the table and popped the microwave door open. His chest was emanating heat where he stood, feet planted in a spot just behind her. She did not look at him. "I am helping you make a decision."

"I can't just run away, Kylo. You know that. And you said it yourself," she slid a bowl onto the table and tore the popcorn package open. "They would take me back even if I don't want to. There's no use running away."

"Fight, then."

"I can't do  _that_ , either." 

"You managed to take someone's life before, why not now?"

" _Because_." She glared at him. He was goading her into a decision by bringing up Gibbs' death. "It's the  _Council_. They're not an unwieldy little Witch in the Witching Academy who'd forgotten to make the last minute decision to parry a crushing blow to the top of his head."

His eyes flashed bright. "That is how he died."

"That's not the  _point_. The point is, there's only one logical course of action. Come clean, come forward, and be ready for a trial."

"That's a yes, then?" 

"'Maybe." She grumbled. What was there to do, anyway? She fished a piece of salted popcorn and gestured passively to the clothes on the table. Kylo looked at them with mild hesitation, staring hard at the knots of dark wool on the sweater with the forehead-crease of an engineer in deep thought. 

Rey slurred a reply, munching. "It's to cover you up."

"Is there such a need?" He was genuinely curious, reaching out to touch the woolen sweater. He seemed to like that one the most. He pulled it gingerly from its nestle with the other articles of clothing and pressed the side of his face against its surface. Rey's smile was unbidden. His eyes sparkled with recognition. 

"This is what you call a 'sweater.'" He recalled. Rey nodded. "It is nice."

"There you go." She chuckled, untangling the fabric from his fingers and urging him to move forward. "I'll show you how to wear it."

"Oh," she thought she saw him grin eagerly. "Let me."

There was a deliberate, mechanical slowness in the way he tugged the string of the apron from behind his neck. He wasn't looking at her, he wasn't touching her, he was looking at the piece of fabric in her hands but she was staring holes into his creased forehead. She was looking at the ripples of muscles, sinewy shifts of underlying strength against skin. His fingers brushed against hers as he took the sweater from her hold and experimentally looked into the arm holes, and then flicked his gaze to his biceps. His skin pulled around his pectorals, stomach clenched as he raised his arms to push into the sleeves of the dark woolen sweater. His face was obscured and lost somewhere in the strings and seams. It was going well so far, Rey's throat was drying up, but then he started skipping on one heavy feet. 

"What's wrong?" Rey reached up to steady him, palm splaying at his chest. He ceased moving immediately, heart a steady rhythm against her hands. 

"I have lost sight of the neck hole." 

"The what?" She was laughing at the pathetic sound he was making—something so very unlike Kylo. A cross between a whine and a confused growl. 

"This." He bent his whole body forward, from his hip up, and extended one long arm—still stuck halfway through one sleeve—to reach for her shoulder. His fingers triumphantly found the curve of her neck and thumbed at her shirt collar. "I can't find it."

Popcorn bowl forgotten on the table, Rey raised herself on tiptoes and straightened his back, his fingertips nearly reaching the ceiling. How could anyone be so  _tall_? She tugged lightly at the hem of the dark sweater. It didn't budge, so she reached on hand up to palm at where she thought his head might be, running her fingers carefully until she felt the tell-tale dip of his neck. She found it and wriggled his neck past the tangle of fabric, easing the cloth down past his long ears, elegant and somehow strangely amusing in their awkward size. His pulse was brushing lightly at the clefts of her palm and his eyes were solid walls of magic that fixed her on her spot. His thumbs had found their way into her hips, had managed to slip past her hem and rub at the sides of her waist, making her toes tingle and laughter bubble up in her chest. 

Kylo's lips cracked in an odd smile, as though he were discovering a little secret he'd intended to keep. "You are ticklish." 

He rubbed and smiled oddly all throughout the strangled little chuckles she let out. 

"You are most beautiful like this." He blurted out mid-rub. Rey froze in her spot, flashing him another rhubarb-red type of blush. It made the sides of his lips quirk affectionately. 

"What?" She whispered, inching close unconsciously.

"This. When you are unrestrained; when you are laughing; when there is nothing in your energy signature that fizzles in and out with the steady influx of conflicting emotions." He kept his eyes straight, kept them tucked under the wraps of a combined force of his and her power, of the interloped connection of their minds, knowing she can see and  _feel_  the way he thinks about her simultaneously. Personal and mental. This was Kylo Ren's brand of affection. 

She waved it off simply, staring at the popcorn bowl. He was throwing tentative glances towards the table by the time she'd managed to look back at him, looking uncertainly at the intimidating ensemble of different textured fabrics and colors and styles. The khakis were the first ones he'd felt at the pads of his fingers, slipping one anxious finger into a belt hoop. Rey chucked a piece of popcorn and chewed. Kylo Ren switched between two hands, weighing the material in his palms, and then looking at her. 

"Why do you so wish to obscure me?" 

Poe was  _right_ —she'd hated to admit it. His pecs were impressive even with the barrier of the sweater, even through its darkness, and his chest was tastefully broad, punctuated by a trim waist.  _Christ_ , he was beautiful. So why did she want to cover him up?

She cleared her throat, heading for the living room. "Because in this Realm, you can't just parade  _everything."_

"You do it always." He set the khakis down and tapped at his temple. "In here."

Rey huffed, set the bowl down, and purposefully ignored him. He was still naked from the waist down, it was still really distracting, but it was also very real just how serious her decision would be after the next three days. Looking at Kylo Ren only seemed to give the incessant small voices at the back of her head a chance to be heard. Telling her to do the right thing, terrifying though it might be. She did try to listen to it, this morning, in fact, but it still felt too fast. She was just getting along with Finn, just having fun at her mundane job, just recovering from the horrible experience Bazine had put her through. Now it felt like she was throwing it all away out the proverbial window without the option of plunging down after it before it hit the sidewalk. 

Kylo settled mutely on the floor, his left shoulder brushing at her right leg. She looked blankly at the top of his black mop of hair and popped another piece of popcorn above the sound of a British narrator droning on about wild cats in the savanna. 

"You are agitated. Again." 

"Didn't think you'd notice." She griped, watching a cheetah speed past grass and barrel through dirt.

"I do. Why would you even ask when you know it is apparent?" 

"It's called sarcasm." 

"Do you loathe it when I ask things about this world?"

The cheetah caught up with a wandering deer in the steppe, lunging forward from its hiding place beneath the stalks and going straight for the creature's jugular. "No."

"Then why are you agitated?" 

"You know why." 

The British burred on, entrancing Rey and Kylo in a makeshift peace. "My mother's proposition is weighing down on you."

He was a thick wall of solid, and sinewy muscle when he knelt before her, blocking the faded blue glare of the TV. He locked eyes with her the same way he had in the middle of this same living room, played his memories out to give her the answers she needed. So she didn't flinch at the heavy weight of Kylo's warm palm at her shoulder, didn't cower at the intensity of his blazing golden eyes. She'd never been afraid of him. He'd given her no reason to be. But she was still terrified, her heart dropping from a precarious perch on top of the height and might of the decisions she needed to make. 

"I know why it is you would prefer to stay here. Why it is that you desire to be Human despite the knowledge that you will never be." 

A light snowstorm was whirring down the streets of the city, sweeping traces of heat, obscuring buildings, wind and snow slamming hard against pedestrians, windshield wipers working woefully to keep the little horrors away. Everything was one step closer to doom, always. Everything had equal chances at a direful fate–every  _one_. And for each hypothetical path of despair, there were cards to be played, little things you could make to influence the smallest hint of change. 

What terrified her at the melancholy in Kylo Ren's eyes weren't his horns, his hooves, or his hollowed out eye sockets, or his engorged limbs—it was the implications of the things his sorrow represented. One part his, and one part hers, both theirs; entities sharing one destiny. 

"Why?" She whispered back, letting the stress of the whole ordeal wash over her again, just so Kylo could try to do something about it. 

"Because unlike us, they can choose paths. They have the luxury, the birthright to engage themselves in an uncertain future—and come out in control." He turned back to the TV just as the cheetah was rearing its head forward in a bloodied mess of limbs and hide, chomping at a piece of flesh. "We are the wandering deer; our demise is the cunning cheetah. Our lives are spent in the dark, in the shell of unknowing, and when we turn, and try to look around for the answers, fangs find our fingers where we reach them out to. And pull us into a destiny we didn't choose, a destiny we cannot control." 

"It's not about being Human, Kylo." 

The blue light mixed with the thick swirling gold in his eyes, turning it into a turbulent shift of sunset and the endless blue sky. His brows pulled together at the middle, his fingers snaked past her shoulder and wound themselves beneath her hair. 

"What is it about?" 

"It's about  _normal_."

"Normal?" His thumb made her skin prickle, moving directionless against the curve of her jaw. For a slight moment, she thought he was going to lean in and kiss her, or drop his head forward and kiss the divot between her collarbones again. But he didn't. He just sat there and waited for an answer. End credits rolled up quickly accompanied by a steady tap-tap of tribal drums. 

She drew in a sharp breath. "Normal is peace. Normal is rhythm. Normal is.. waking up in the morning and being happy because nothing is out of place, because problems are manageable and because lunches with Finn don't feel guilty. Normal is.. normal is something I will never have. I thought I did- I did, for a short amount of time, but now, nothing is normal."

Kylo's jaw clenched. She was stiff and unmoving, making no move even when Kylo Ren drew her closer to his chest, when he kissed her temple. "I can't provide you with normal." He sounded pained, strained, the sound of his voice a grating vibration within his chest. But it had just enough of a vestige of hope to make her look up and into his mercurial eyes. "But I can be your Normal. Let me be your Normal."

Rey's eyes flew open. He repeated his proposition, this time with a smile and a firm rumble of conviction. That oh so wonderful intensity, and she was lurching forward giggling hopelessly into his exposed neck. "Yes." She breathed. He smelt of skin and fire and blood going up in flames—so familiar, so different, a flicker of elements, so exactly like him. 

"Yes." She repeated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Rey in this story as someone not quite so keen on her destiny. It's a what-if kind of deal. Being the "chosen one" or any sort of character with that much weight on your shoulders can be stressful. So what if Rey didn't want to be this or that in the first place? Not everyone wants to save the world. That was the main conflict within herself that I was looking at and I hope I got to portray it. 
> 
> Also, I made fun of myself in there somewhere...


	15. Stronger Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It turns out the new TLJ trailer has pushed me into action. Up until now I'm pretty sure I'm still only half-breathing. It shook me to the core, you guys, and I'm pretty sure it prolly shook all of you, too, right?
> 
> Anyways, I reaaaally hope you enjoy this chapter.

"Your sister's proposition is rash and disrespectful." Kylo muttered into the half full tub, at the frescoed image of Luke Skywalker. The man snorted. 

"You mean your mother, Ben."

"Was it Dameron?" He asked instead, shifting uncomfortably on his knees.

"Ah, so that's her Grigori's name." 

" _Answer_." Kylo demanded, gritting his teeth. 

"Okay, okay, sheesh. Of course it's Dameron. He's been her Grigori for years now, been on the Mortal Realm five years."

Five years. Kylo's eyes focused on one of Rey's melted candles at the other side of the tub. It was purple and scentless when unlit, but it brought calm to his mind like it did with Rey. 

Five years. That was why he'd always felt strange around that man. He'd played his part well, Kylo could testify to that much. He gave nothing away every time Rey and Finn were together, even if he was in the room with them. Maybe it wasn't Finn that made him jealous, then. Maybe it had been Poe all along. 

"Was he given direct orders to keep an eye on Rey?" 

"Not until recently. The Council knows of the attacks." Kylo recognized the crystalline blue of Luke's ornate goblet sitting on his desk, filled with an ember liquid. He watched as he drank one long sip, looking elsewhere in the room instead of his and Kylo's communication link. Kylo knew he should say something, but he didn't really know what. The Council knew, and Leia was telling the truth. Rey was right. There was no other option. 

"What is being done?" Aside from the fact that his mother was a Council member, Kylo Ren wasn't particularly fond of the Council. He saw them as pompous functionaries hiding under the regal robes of midnight and luscious reds and golds that gave them the ultimate say in things they didn't even entirely understand. As far as he was concerned, they were nothing more than bumbling cattle. But Rey was the chosen one. Surely they were doing something to protect her. 

"Frankly, none." 

" _What_?"

"Honestly, Ben. I thought you'd pick that up from when your mother sent you that message." Luke hobbled lazily from his desk, disappearing somewhere to refill his drink. So that was why she called. His eyes bore a flame of fury. Luke set his glass back down upon returning. 

"What do you mean?" 

The man sighed from the other end, the movement a blurry bob of his head. He stared at his drink, and carefully replied. "Your mother has been fighting for the Council's attention to shift to Rey's case. No one is listening. The Council Prime assigned her to investigate the attacks, Poe Dameron was relegated the task to keep watch of Rey half a year ago. But it didn't yield the results the Council was looking for, they suspended the mission due to its insufficient amount of evidence; the prophecy fell on deaf ears, too. There are only three elders left in the Council, Leia is one of them, the only Druid who held on to the prophecy of the chosen one and wanted to do something about it. In the Council's eyes, Rey is nothing more than a criminal who experienced the occasional attacks as part of her normal everyday life in exile."

"It is the prophecy; it serves a purpose. How can anyone just ignore it?"

Luke shrugged, thumbing at a collection of documents on his desk. Kylo knew it for what it was: it held the crest of the Council at the topmost part, elegantly carved out from the flimsy, the fastidious and decorative golden borders and the spidery hand of its only trusted escritoire, now potentially shriveling at 800 years old. And Leia's dainty signature peeking at him in black ink at the bottom right corner. 

"It's not that they're ignoring it." Luke explained, stopping at a particular piece of parchment, a smaller rectangle that fitted in his palm. "They're just not sure if it's worth their attention." 

" _Hux_  wants her." This was ridiculous. That alone should be enough reason why they need to take drastic measures to protect her, wasn't it? An angry demon seated in the same position he'd—he was still—seated in, wanted Rey _dead_. 

"You know the Council, Ben. The younger members don't heed prophecies anymore—"

"Foolish, the lot of them."

"Yes, well, Prime East picked them for that very purpose." He chuckled, embittered. "But your mother is not foolish. She's your ally this time, probably the only one."

Dameron babbling in his mother's voice flitted back into his mind. "She has quite a way of showing it."

"Oh, come on. Nothing you're not used to, right?"

Kylo Ren snorted. 

"'Esteemed Council Prime East Motley, respected elders, fellow council members, and Druid Aquila, I ask your permission to recount the investigation of Rey Kenobi fulfilled through Poe Isaac Dameron; a Grigori under my direct command.'" Luke read out in his gruff monotone, missing the way Kylo Ren's brows lifted high.

"She's a Kenobi?"

"She's a family friend's daughter, yes."

Had he not known, he would've thought Rey's temper was a hereditary trait, but Ben Kenobi was known best for his even temper. He never stormed, or bubbled over with pent up rage, or soiled his hands with the likes of revenge. But he also never saw him, having died before he even got the chance to meet him. And that’s why he probably would have never guessed the grizzled man in her memories bore the face of even-tempered Ben Kenobi, his namesake, too, no less. Rey was entirely different, though. He wondered how that was. But then she'd also been orphaned at the tender age of five, and left to fend for herself until Luke Skywalker found her and put her skills to good use. 

"Hello?" Luke rumbled from the image. "Earth to Ben."

"Why did you take her in?" He blurted mindlessly, looping a finger through one belt hole in the khaki shorts Rey had insisted him to wear this morning. She'd insisted very vehemently after being poked awake at her back with the appendage between his legs. The one he didn't quite understand. 

Luke regarded him for a long moment. Kylo didn't have to reach out to his mind through the link. He knew that look he gave when he was thinking about what he was going to say for once, and not just settling on babbling out mindlessly. The goblet was back in view, slender neck wrapped around with wrinkled fingers. His eyes were distant as he drank, and his jaw tugged and clenched. "Rey.. she reminded me of you."

He remembered how he was as a youngling, running around their family estate in his robes and declaring a power that came out of his fingers. He'd found his mother in the kitchen, then, caught in a screaming match with his father. She'd ceased immediately. He'd thought it was nothing. Han lifted him up like it was nothing, so he believed in it. But then his mother's face changed. It lost its color, giving way to a pallor he saw only when she was horrified, and knew that things were going to change.

"Rey is nothing like me." Because she wasn't. Though reckless, Rey was light and understanding, with memories held dear of parents and friends. She loathed only when it was right, appropriated disdain only to those who show it to her first. He was violent, fit snugly in the depths of the Demon Realm entirely because of it. 

"You are more alike than you care to admit, Ben. And I should know that. I was something of a parent to her once. Had a fraction of your temper." He chortled at that part, looking to his left and no doubt reminiscing. "But she's fiercely brave, too. She stood by her beliefs and never backed down. A fighter through and through. Like you."

Kylo reared back indignantly, blinking. "I  _betrayed_  you."

"Yes, well, I've forgiven you a long time ago. I understood what you wanted to achieve. Perhaps I was unhappy with the way things turned out, but a large part of the fault lies with me, too." Luke knew this to be true. Kylo had been transparent about his desire to follow in his father's footsteps. He was so ready to escape the tumultuous life of his mother, despite her insistent efforts to convince him that Witchcraft was the only path. All his desires then were only good for living room chatter amongst his mother’s many council affiliates, a gaggle of dignitaries laughing at the crazed and fruitless dreams of a young boy. 

Then before he knew it, he was being dragged, guilted into training with his uncle whom he'd rarely ever talked to. And then he was whisked far away, with no way to contact his father, no way to plead his case to his hardheaded mother. That was when he changed. That was when he'd impassively went through the ropes of training, excelling in the eyes of his peers but failing in his desire to be with the only person he ever cared. 

He thought about Rey. He always did. He thought about  _her_  journey into Witchcraft. She was excellent in it, that much was certain, but she was impatient, too. Unlike he. She openly said things that bothered her, which was the likely reason she always got into trouble. But she was bursting with eagerness, and her heart was set fiercely for the fate he had hated as a child. How could they be similar?

"Rey deserves to be set free." He was speaking about his repressed childhood and Luke was understanding. "She is a wonderfully talented Witch. She is remarkable. _I believe_  she is remarkable."

"She is." Luke replied with a smile. 

"So perhaps, you will understand why I wish to ask you this.." he trailed off, unsure about how to go about his resolve. 

Luke noticed it with ease, leaning forward on his desk by his elbows and waiting expectantly. 

"How do I provide comfort for her?" Perhaps if he'd been younger, a more petulant version of himself, he'd have ignored Rey's unease. She didn't say the mantras she always did this morning, or sigh after the first bite of her pancake, or nursed a cup of tea and slouched against her chair. She left, instead, in a flurry, clothes a rumpled mess, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and an agitation that stayed with her even after the communion with Leia. If there was someone who could understand Rey when she was most flustered, most confused, and stressed out, it would be Luke. 

Luke knew this, too, leaning his back and joining his fingers together thoughtfully. "You care about her a great deal, don't you, nephew?"

A pause in his end, and another ungainly shuffle. "I do. She is.. important to me."

"Even outside the prophecy?" 

He seemed almost offended. "Of course. She has provided me shelter, and cared and fed me."

"Treated you as her equal?"

"Yes." 

Luke smiled knowingly, nodding to himself. "Then that is your answer."

"What?" 

"Knowing you, there will be a lot of effort on your part to make her feel like she needs someone to grab a hold on to. That is wonderful, to an extent, Ben, but Rey is anything but fragile. Support her in silence; make her see that you care and that you understand her dilemma, but never try to put her in a situation which makes her feel vulnerable. Lend her your strength, let her lean on you in her own time." He winked and it sent Kylo's mind in a frenzy. It looked like Han Solo. The father who teased and winked deliberately at his mother. "She'll come around."

The image had gone, the water now an unmoving expanse of liquid. 

Luke Skywalker was something of a father to Rey, and maybe, even though he hadn't managed to see it, perhaps to him, too.

 

* * *

 

 

A part of Rey knew that agreeing to go grocery shopping with Kylo Ren would involve a lot of staring from his end. He'd already managed to block off the path for other shoppers when he stilled at the automatic slide doors, staring hard past the glass and into the many many aisles of different products. She pulled him inside, eventually, after an elderly woman swatted his left arm. He nearly went on the offensive, eyes bugging out in surprise, but she caught him in the nick of time. Once inside, he wandered thoughtlessly to the produce section like he'd been magnetized, and stared at the fresh fruits for god knows how long. She had to drag him away to move him, not an easy feat when he was six-foot-five of solid muscle. He'd practically sprinted to the seafood section, picking up a large piece of pink salmon and nearly shoveling it into his waiting mouth. 

No one had ever bolted as fast as Rey did that moment. She took it from him with ease, careful not to break the flesh should anyone insist she pay for it. He grinned at the symphony of colors in the cereal section, asking different questions for each one that Rey looked over. She answered him with a smile each time, even teaching him the letters that marked the boxes. 

He made quick work of her slight introduction with the letters, he'd missed only the strange pronunciations, but read out the rest of the labels in what she can only describe as monotonous glee. They passed the condiments aisle as he stiltedly read out the labels he could see.  _Cinnamon_. He said that one correctly. And then  _Rosemary_ , just missing the rise at 'a' and mumbling out 'ma-ri' instead. But then there was  _Worcestershire sauce_ sitting up front two shelves above her and his mouth meshed uncomfortably to get the words out. 

She doubled over with laughter at the sound, missing the way Kylo's eyes flared up with curiosity. Oblivious though he might be, he knew it had somehow entertained her. So he repeated it. Rey laughed embarrassingly loud, wheezing by the time an elderly woman rolled a cart beside her and gave her a condescending look. She straightened up quickly, even as the lady rounded the corner, she kept her face stoic. Until Kylo Ren managed to pick the letters to a plastic wrap of bright orange powder and stuttered  _Shichimi Togarashi_ out in his monotone. All hell broke loose and she was nearly throwing her head back out of amusement. Kylo was, for some reason, doing it on purpose, oblivious to his embarrassment if it meant Rey would be laughing at his mishaps. 

Soon, he'd made a game of stringing the letters together and straining to read the labels from a distance. They'd lounged in the condiments and spices aisles longer than any customer would. Rey even made for a round trip when they reached the end of the aisle, letting Kylo squeeze out fits of giggles from her throat when he tried to keep reading the labels. They must look like a ridiculous, rambunctious, mismatched pair between the assortments of different spices flanking them on both sides.

For all the strange looks they'd been getting, though, Kylo seemed to carry himself oblivious, more out of a complete lack of embarrassment for people he didn't know.  _Sriracha_ , he droned the second they started the second trip to the aisle. He sounded so confused at the arrangements of the letters that he tilted his head. 

"What kind of a label is that?" He muttered under his breath, eyes still roving down the length of the bottled up spices and sauces nonetheless. 

"It's from Thailand." She replied, as if that sufficed as an answer to his question. Kylo promptly dropped the subject, turning to another orange-y hue of powder, almost the color of the sunset, labeled  _Ras El Hanout_ and that was finally the end of it. They emerged from the condiments section with the only thing she had really intended to get from it: Olive Oil, and Ketchup. 

Over at the pastry section, he stumbled awkwardly to a box he'd recognized—more from the picture—and handed it to her. He was trying to grin, but his teeth were peeking out wrong, his lips tugging so stiffly she thought he froze from the inside out. She laughed again, despite herself and stared down at the bright red box labeled 'Devil's Food Cake Mix'.

"Really?" She arched on elegant brow as Kylo shifted soundlessly on her pink bunny slippers that were too big on his gigantic feet. 

"It had seemed to relax you when you were making one. Perhaps it could relax you now?" He offered, darting a nervous glance to her face. Wait. 

Rey stared back at the box.  _Easy to Prepare!_ It claimed and then tracked her gaze back up, up his chest and into his eyes. "You want me to bake.. so I can relax..?" 

He nodded, albeit reluctantly, and took the box from her. He lifted it up in front of his face, obscuring his nose and mouth behind it. "You did not take my mother's proposition well. And I no longer want to see you so agitated. But you'd been calm when you created this for me, I just wanted to see if it would work the same way this time and provide you relaxation." 

Oh. 

 _Oh_. That was his intention. At the condiments section. 

Her heart swelled at that, a little uncomfortably, though she'd been suddenly slammed with the urge to wrap her arms around him out of gratitude. She tamped down on the urge and Kylo refused to acknowledge the thought even as it passed through their link. She smiled happily at him and threw the box in her cart with a nod, and then, finally, an array of food items, spices, three different kinds of colorful fruits later shoved in brown paper bags later, they were finished.

But then he stopped at a large space of waiting tables and neighboring stalls, cooking and serving different types of meals and smelling of different kinds of spices and he was close to humming with joy. Eventually, she decided to eat out today, upon his silent observation of the area. So she ordered him to sit down on one unoccupied table, and disappeared to put their paper bags in the car. 

She'd been afraid he'd give away too much if a wayward child so much as closes in on him or an elderly woman asks him where the bathroom was but she'd thankfully returned to a stoic looking Kylo Ren glaring at the man across him, Poe Dameron, sitting opposite him. She moved with quick steps towards their direction, careful as she placed one small hand on Kylo Ren's exposed knee to dampen the sweltering glare he threw at Poe.

Poe, as usual, was entirely unaffected. He greeted Rey with the smile he always gave with ease, and winked at Kylo from across the table. It had tensed Kylo's muscles, she felt it even from his knees, and she whispered for him to calm down. He listened like an obedient dog, but it was only her hand on his skin that kept him from outrightly pouncing. 

Poe's smile was calm, placating even, though Kylo Ren was a coiled tight spring, ready to unwind beneath her fingertips. He was a little like an attack dog, she mused privately, before addressing Poe's presence properly. 

"Are you here to ask us if we'd taken the proposal?" She began, inhaling the spicy, stuffy air inside the foodcourt, picking out one particular Chinese dish she'd liked. Poe quirked a brow. 

"I  _was_." He admitted, contorting his chest and slipping off a brown leather jacket. "But Tiger doesn't seem to really like mommy talk." 

Kylo went at least three different shades of angry red, jaw popping. Poe had to reappear sometime, Rey thought to herself, in the three-day ultimatum. But it was a supermarket inside a mall, it was  _big_ , and Poe was still here.

Maybe putting it off was cowardice. Ridiculous thought considering that the whirlwind her life had become after knowing the prophecy had consisted of her constantly reminding herself to be strong and brave. 

One could simply not help it, she decided, especially when supernatural super beings wanted to soil their grubby hands with her blood as some sort of victory. "So what's the 'coincidental' running into each other thing for?"

"The universe? I don't know. I don't believe in those things." He gave her a sardonic grin. It was meant more to spite himself.  

“Ironic.” Rey added.

"We're still thinking about it." Kylo answered the question Poe was putting off. The other man visibly sagged, as if waiting for those exact words. Rey had to physically restrain her brows from shooting up too high and into her hairline. 

"Good, for a second there I thought I was going to have to feel guilty about bringing you to Leia without your permission." 

"That is what she still plans to do." Kylo concluded dismissively in the tone of someone who knew exactly what he was talking about. Poe mumbled and chuckled what sounded suspiciously like agreement, but it was lost to her as her eyes tracked the worried shift of Kylo Ren's eyes to hers, a dulled honey brown now they were in public but turbulent all the same. She nodded to herself. The liquid gold was too off-putting. 

"I can't really break orders, princess." Poe directed to Rey this time. "Trust me when I tell you I'm as opposed to this whole deal as much as you two are." 

"Then why do it?" Rey replied too quickly, curiosity winning over her. The thick assortment of supernatural muscles and powers fixed a glare on his face, hard jaw set, lips downturned, and eyes stoic and intense.

"Because I actually think she's doing the right thing with what little power she has to bring you back. And that she's probably the only one in that pathetic excuse of a Council with a firm head screwed on her shoulders." His reply was more assertive than she'd expected. 

As soon as Kylo's mother started talking to her that fateful night, she had little doubt she was related to her Demon in every way. She had that same imposing stance her son had, though she stood only a couple of inches short of Rey's own frame. Held the same amount of dignified air and settled into the same comfortable shoulder roll of someone who was used to being in a place of influence. Kylo inherited his self-assuredness from the woman, too, she mused, remembering the way she stubbornly left no room for arguments when it came to things she wanted done. 

"But she knows I'm due for a trial." She managed to get out, biting her lower lip at the implications of that happening. She was either facing execution or being drained out of her power. But wouldn't that mean no demon attackers? That sounded great. Only that would also mean handing the Mortal Realm to the Demons on a silver platter. And disrupting the relative peace of the Realms. She deflated with dejection. Kylo took notice and found her small hand on his knee, squeezing just enough to ease her woes away.

Poe leaned in close and brought one hand to cover his mouth from prying eyes, like someone who was getting ready to mumble out a very important secret. "She does. The Council does. But she was lying when she told you that the Council needs you." 

Oh. It  _was_  a secret then. 

"What do you mean?" Kylo Ren piped, broad chest now relaxing but shoulder blades still flexed. 

"She wants to smuggle you in." He gestured in their general direction, offering a very visceral smirk. The thought certainly amused him. "Against the Council's better judgment. She'd been making her case in front of them for a whole year now, regarding Rey's attacks, and she'd had enough of not being taken seriously." He winked at Kylo good-naturedly, but the taller man recoiled incredulously. "You should know, shouldn't you?" 

"That is foolish to attempt, even more preposterous to even consider." Kylo derided.

"I know, right?" Poe chimed in, shaking his head at it all. Rey exchanged a furtive glance with Kylo, suddenly understanding that Poe somehow really does disagree with the arrangement. 

"And what if she fails and the very second we set foot back in the Witching Realm, we are detained?" This was Kylo looking out for her, Kylo proving that he was once again the only stronghold in her complicated life, the only anchor she had to what little was left of her sanity. The silence seemed to stretch out forever and by the time Rey's eyes focused back on the way Poe was worrying his lower lip in earnest, she was already holding a breath she didn't even know she'd be holding. 

"Then Rey goes into trial." He replied flippantly. Kylo stretched up hastily on his legs, glowering down at him with a rage she'd only seen in herself. 

"Kylo." She called tenderly, but he was already gone, fisting one hand in his collar and drawing Poe up like a cat, by the scruff of its neck. Ironic. 

"Let me.. explain.."

"You have proved your incompetence more than once, _underling_."

"Kylo." Her heeding took a bold and firm tone. It had to. They were causing quite a scene in the foodcourt, one marshal was already hovering at the corner of her eye, preparing to pry both men apart should they gravitate close enough to hurt. A few people have stopped, in favor of the rising tension. A few others sought safety from a distance, contenting themselves from watching afar. 

Rey pinched the bridge of her nose. "Talk, Poe." 

To his credit, Poe ignored the eyes that had found them in the next intense half-minute staring session with Kylo, opting instead to answer her. "If Rey goes into trial, Leia will go with her."

Kylo was still standing, casting a disparaging look at him beyond the high point of his nose, but where he'd nearly popped his jaw from clenching, he now had the most curious expression on his face. Rey turned to Poe with perhaps the same expression, brows knitting together in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"She may not have said it, but Leia is willing to go through hell and high water to prove that you're important to everyone involved. Like tricycle guy over there." He nodded vaguely over Rey's shoulder to a small kid who'd stopped pedaling in exchange for staring at strangers at the mall who were ready to throw down. The kid panicked when Rey looked back, making a run for it. "So willing that she'd risk losing her job—and her credibility, even—just to prove a point."

The whole space seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief when Kylo finally sank down on his seat, staring at the greasy plastic and metal table. "She's a woman of duty, all right. She's got a very keen sense of responsibility."

Muscles flexed and tensed and shivered just the slightest beside her, it was like Kylo was unfurling from the inside. Rey didn't need to look at him to know that of the three of them at that table, it was Kylo who could attest to Poe's declaration the most. Poe seemed to have noticed the tension, averting his eyes and glancing a little too long at a lady from across the room dragging a crying kid around, wailing about lost candy. They stayed like that for at least a whole minute, Kylo trying to regain composure, Poe desperately trying to keep his mouth shut, and Rey unsure of what action to take. 

Until Finn showed up, jaw hanging from where Rey spotted him, with a paper bag tucked into his chest. He smiled when his eyes met with Poe's, giddily taking short quick steps and carefully keeping his bags closer. "Oh, boy." Poe muttered under his breath, plastering a roguish smile on his face just as Finn was sliding in.

"Poe! Oh, and Rey!" Finn's smile became tentative, taking in the new foreign figure sitting way too stiffly beside Rey. "And...?"

"Ren." Rey replied shakily after managing to not blurt out 'Kylo' since that was the demon's cat name. Sort of. "My uhm, friend."

"Okay?" Finn smiled sheepishly, eyeing Kylo Ren way too closely that Rey had to make sure that the wince she'd been holding in didn't show. "How come we never met him?”

"Come on, Finn, baby," Poe chimed in, wrapping an easy arm around the other man's shoulder. "Don't give the new guy a heart attack, you scrutinizer of everything."

Rey shot Poe a thankful glance before Finn turned around again, laughing dryly. "Ooh." Poe exclaimed from his side of the table. Kylo looked at him and tried to make out the letters on a small container he was holding. "You bought pudding? For me?" 

Finn swatted his hand that time, too, snatching the small cup of pudding from his boyfriend and stuffing it back in the bag. Poe pouted uselessly and Kylo leaned close to Rey's ear to recite  _Chocolate Pudding._ Rey laughed impulsively, but caught herself once Finn's eyes flickered between her and Kylo for one, two, three seconds that seemed to drag. Poe was looking so innocently that no one would have thought he was even part of the group. 

Then Finn cracked a slow—very slow for Rey's liking—knowing smile. "Ah," he hummed, leaning back on his elbows, staring between Kylo and Rey with a sparkle in his eyes that Rey felt squirming under. "I know what this is."

Kylo was motionless, not understanding the cue, but he was looking at Finn, too, and throwing a glance Rey's way, trying to make out what was happening. " _We_  know what it is, don't we, Poe?"

Poe turned around, pasting another charming smile that could so easily just pass off as innocent. Finn knew it was anything but. Rey did too. She inched a little a ways Kylo and bit her lip, already knowing where this was going.

Finn and Poe exchanged glances. Finn was mostly just wiggling his eyebrows and nodding and jutting his chin in their direction. And then Poe was nodding, too, brows flying up, the only recipient of an inside joke.  _Please don't play along,_  Rey prayed.  _Please_. 

"Oh, do we." Poe chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows, tugging Finn's brown bag aside. Rey was already turning  _violet_ out of embarrassment.  _Violet_. That wasn't normal _._

But Finn was merciless in his knowing gaze, in the way his eyes flickered too suggestively between her and Kylo. Looking like he knew something about them she didn't. Kylo was the first to cut the indulgent staring being done by the two males between them, clearly going alpha about the fact that two other men were staring at her. She nearly snorted. Nearly. But she was glad he was still somewhat jealous, if not a little apprehensive at what he might say. 

"What is there to know that we are unaware of?"

Kylo's response made Finn smirk somehow wider. It puzzled Kylo to no end, and Rey blushed when he looked down at her curiously. As though the freckles on her face would provide him the answer. 

"Oh you know. Rey's never been out for a long time. You must have broken the spell." Finn commented offhandedly, punctuating it with a wink. Kylo's eyes flew open, brain clicking and cogs turning with alarm.  _Shit_. He thought—

"You know of the spell?"

Finn blinked. "What?"

"He means," Rey hurriedly interrupted, assuaging Kylo's surprise and curiosity with repeated taps on his exposed knee that neither men saw. She was flushed and embarrassed and so fucking screwed if Finn found out. Poe was being an unhelpful asshole, lips twitching at how hard it was becoming to hold his laughter in. She so regretted even being remotely thankful to him. "He's uhm, privy to uhm, my.. personal life." 

She hoped it didn't come out like a question, she hoped that was enough to convince him. It had worked. Sort of. Because Finn nodded slowly, albeit still showing perplexity on his features. Then his head lifted and his eyes were spiked with intrigue again. "That long, huh?"

This time, it was Rey who asked a confused, "What?"

Poe started coughing in his fisted right hand, eyes dancing with more mirth than she'd ever seen. She was so going to cast some sort of spell on him when this was all over. Kylo leaped at the thought, sharing her sentiment and signature bounding so enthusiastically that it made her think of bouncing little balls. Until she realized the mistake of her smile and Finn clapped his hands together. 

"Didn't think I'd find out, did you?" Finn laughed. "Seriously? That long? I've never seen you so.. happy, like this. Was this why you were feeling so down last week? Were you having couple problems?" 

Poe was doing absolutely nothing to amend the situation even when Rey was darting venomous dagger-stares over at him. She wished it were just couple problems. Or any other problem, for that matter. She swallowed audibly. Kylo had been rubbing soothing circles against her hand that only made her flush so hard that Finn's amused grin nearly showed all his pearly whites. "Yes." She squeaked, voice betraying her. It was ironically easier to agree. Poe was covering an arm over his upturned lips. 

"Oh, peanut." Finn cooed, tilting his head. "And what did you do?" He added, eyes locking with Kylo's confused ones. He was staring at him harshly, and Kylo was not one to back down, pulling his head up indignantly and staring him back down from the bridge of his high nose.

"I did not do anything." His voice was a very low octave, low enough that Rey knew it might show in his eyes. Rey diffused the tension the only way she thought she could given her limited options, pulled Kylo by the neck and placed a slow, indulgent kiss on his parted lips. Poe's eyes widened in surprise, fist coming to rest on his lips, obscuring a doubtlessly amused grin. Even Finn was grinning impishly. The flush never quite went away, even as Kylo stared back at her unblinking, the diffused golden glow of his eyes glinting with silent, if not confused, satisfaction. 

She kept her eyes on him, considering it the lesser evil in the situation, and carded her fingers in his hair just enough for Finn to see. "He's been nothing but sweet to me after that night, thank you very much." She smarmed at Finn. Poe smiled proudly, like a father who had finally succeeded making his son ride a bike on his own. 

"Aha!" Finn gathered himself finally, pointing at her. "So he  _is_  your boyfriend!"

Rey looked at him, mustering the most self-satisfied smile she could put on, fingers coming to rest at Kylo's warm nape. "Yes." 

He still hadn't looked away from her. His eyes kept darting at her lips, arms and legs tense where he was, and looking like a lost puppy. As she turned around, Kylo met her lips with his own again, mimicking with so much ease the way her lips molded against his. Finn whistled. Kylo pulled away, eyes bright and wide and arms now looping around her waist. Rey desperately tried not to squirm too much, cheeks hot, ears ringing, and breath passing uneasily.

She was uncomfortable now. Poe and Finn were looking like they'd been smiling for years in front of a camera, not being able to quite keep themselves from grinning. 

Finally, Poe spoke, and it took all of Rey's willpower not to lean over the table and break his nose. "We're  _so_  happy for you, Rey."

"Yeah." Finn nudged Poe on the elbow with his own. "We've been waiting for so long for you to get a boyfriend." 

"Yes, well," she played along still, running one warm palm from the base of what length was exposed of Kylo's neck from the collar of the sweater, up to cup his jaw. He looked so tenderly at her that she  _heard_  more than felt her heart doing somersaults in her ribcage. It was pretend, it was a last ditch attempt at an escape, but it was so real. Because Kylo looked at her the same way wherever they were. He looked at her like she'd hung the moon and the stars and that it was her alone that made the world go round. 

"He's- he's glad to have you met you, too. Aren't you, Ren?" She managed a smile, one that Kylo mimicked a little smoothly now, having been used to the action, and then he nodded curtly. Finn, satisfied with this, decided to let the couple teasing go for now. Rey knew better than to expect it was going to be over. He offered to buy everyone Chinese from one of the kiosks, shaking his head profusely when Rey offered to pay for her and Kylo's share. As soon as Finn turned and was out of earshot, Rey's eyes flashed dangerously at a deceptively clueless Poe Dameron from across the table.

"You little  _rat_." She said, toasting Poe under the fire of her still-flushed face. If Rey was being honest, she was envious that Kylo Ren was  _truly_  the only one clueless of what had just transpired. Petty, is what this was called. Petty that she was inching away from Kylo because he was so very unaware of what she'd just done. And in public. Unfair, too. 

But he made no move to slide closer to her, so she stayed in her own bubble in the meantime, waiting for Poe to say something just so she could cut him off with a sucker punch. 

Oh, she was stewing, feeling betrayed, but Poe was still smiling that beguiling smile he'd always used on Finn when he wanted to win an argument with his charm. "Now, now, Rey. Sometimes we don't really see what's—"

There. Rey took it once the window flew open, the chance to land a punch on that pretty little nose of his. Poe's head threw back harshly, his hands flying up to his face and inspecting the damage of her attack. Kylo was sniggering behind her, a strange, slightly pitchy rumble vibrating in his chest. Poe peeked an eye open to stare at them both, eyes watering and fingers shivering over his nose. "You two.. has anyone ever told you you're both very  _dense_?" 

Rey shook the hand she used to punch him, savoring the sharp pang in her knuckles and counting it a victory nonetheless. "What do you mean dense?" She asked absently, just to tease. Poe hesitated, eyelids dropping down to the fingers he had splayed on the table. He caught Kylo's eyes as he began to look back up and then he glanced at Rey with the most indecipherable expression on his face. Poe, who had always been transparent, was looking at her with an ambiguity she'd never once associated with him. Rey lifted a brow. 

"You. Kylo here, and you. How the hell do you not see that you're—"

"Ey. I'm back." Finn interrupted, setting down two orders of Lo Mien in front of Rey and Kylo. Poe turned quickly in his seat, preparing to whine to Finn about Rey's bruise, but she mumbled a seamless spell on him, chuckling when Finn saw nothing. Poe hunched in on himself pathetically, suffering in silence with no one to console him. 

Kylo's eyes immediately sparked with interest at the foreign dish, carefully holding the bowl in his hands and observing each strand of noodle clinically, like he was trying to figure out where one strand began and another ended. Rey, who was still reeling from the gravity of Poe's interrupted observation, contented herself with poking around her carrots. 

"So," Finn said after a long silence. Kylo looked up first, having finally discovered he could move his muscles. Finn watched him pick up the wrapped pair of chopsticks and peel the plastic away gingerly, as if he were doing it the first time. 

"Never had Chinese before?" He asked after Kylo simply stabbed the two wooden sticks in the nest of his noodles. Kylo looked up curiously at the term. Rey kept silent after Kylo managed a timid nod. 

"Alright, I'll teach you." Finn winked. He reached over the table and made to grab Kylo's large, blunt fingers. Kylo pulled it back abruptly, panicked. Rey silenced Finn's oncoming question with a wave-smile combo, and grabbed Kylo's hands instead. He loosened under her fingertips, of course he would, Finn just shook his head, much to Rey's relief, and lifted up her chopsticks for Kylo to see. He followed the movement slowly, listened intently while Finn instructed him— _yeah, that's it. No. Don't just pinch them together, you have to- yes- no, don't stab the carrot. That's it. Yeah. Now you're getting it—_ and smiled triumphantly as the first noodle strand found itself caged between his chopsticks. His hands were still a little wobbly, fingers quivering and trying to keep the noddle from slipping, but improving his control nonetheless. Finn motioned for him to lift the chopsticks up and into his mouth, smiling like a proud father after Kylo's first bite made his eyes fly open. 

Unexpectedly so, Finn guided him accordingly with his chopstick prowess, encouraging him to move his fingers more, allow for more noodles to slide between the slender wooden sticks and then enjoyed it each time Kylo brought the sticks up to his mouth and chewed. Rey felt her anxiety wane. Even Poe was watching appreciatively, eyes glistening with pride for his boyfriend.  _Has anyone ever told you you're both so dense?_ Flitted back into Rey's mind seemingly of its own accord. A short, if not startling, bark-like laughter filtered through her head and then Finn was laughing, too. But it wasn't Finn who'd laughed. She turned to see a grinning Kylo, teeth and eyes impossibly ordinary, just like the rest of them on that table, but that  _laugh_. She wasn't even aware he could sound so young and  _Human_. In that moment, he saw that boy again, the child Kylo was before he'd walked away. 

Dense. The word rattled inside her head again and she was still frowning internally at what that meant. Kylo's eyes found hers not a moment later, with such a serene residual smile on his pillowed lips she suddenly didn't remember where she was. Poe cleared his throat a little later, snapping her out of Kylo's intensifying tenderness. She huffed. Everything about Kylo was so intense she felt like he was only one more staring match away from sending her into cardiac arrest. 

"So where are you from, Ren?" Finn asked without looking, picking the last, short bits of noodles at the bottom of his bowl. Rey froze instantly, bowl of noodles forgotten and temple vein pounding. She risked one pleading glance at Kylo, willing him to turn and give her permission to take the wheel. Wait. She shouldn't be asking. She'll just—

"Chicago." He replied carefully and suddenly Rey and Poe were looking at each other from their spots, sharing the same curiosity. Finn's eyes danced with glee, humming,  _Chicago, Chicago._  "You still come back there? I mean, you're a long way from home, big guy." 

That elicited a strange reaction from Kylo. Out of the many faces and voices he'd used to express his answers, this had been.. sacred, somehow. How his eyes twinkled not quite with happiness or the reminiscent glow people had when recalling a hometown. It was the sadness that played out vividly on the sharp lines of his face in Rey's living room floor. It was a sadness that seemed almost holy, precious, one that Finn totally missed and one that Rey entirely understood. 

"I have no home there to go back to." Kylo replied evenly, losing the energy to heap noodles onto his chopsticks. 

"Family problems?" Finn was keeping the conversation going for some strange reason, his lips twitching at the sides as if to say  _me too._ She looked Kylo in the eye at that, or, at least, at the corner of Kylo's eye and waited with baited breath for his reply. 

It came with the same, carefully hidden wistfulness in his eyes. "If you are so inclined to call it that, yes." 

"Where in Chicago?" Rey was asking, now, letting out the curiosity gnawing at her ever since he told Finn something she'd never thought he'd say. He looked at her calmly, instead of Finn, and declared the answer to her face. 

"Illinois." 

"Born and raised?" Finn reached for a sweaty soda can Rey hadn't noticed was sitting on the table. 

"No." Kylo mumbled, diffused golden eyes still trained on Rey. "Just born."

There was a sound there, in the distance, of the voices of the people around them. One woman was agonizing over which salad dressing to pick, another was in the produce section, a man, gigantic and with a rotund belly, shopping for vegetables and finally, finally deciding to be vegan. A cook in one kiosk was in a heated argument with a customer who had no idea what he wanted and a child somewhere was giggling with his father, seated inside a cart, flailing his little arms around as they glide from one aisle to another. 

And Finn was still asking his questions, and Kylo was still answering them. And answering her. Chicago. His father hailed from there, she saw. A small unit, at least half the size of her's, and a woman, pregnant, hobbling to a bed. A midwife, towels, water, and a scruffy-looking man with piercing blue eyes she'd seen before. A child, in the arms of a woman, tendrils of brown hair painted on her forehead, against her neck. A love that swelled, engulfed the entire room, no matter how small it was, and a pair of golden-brown eyes, moving beneath closed lids—the same one she was seeing today. 

"Rey." Someone said. Kylo was holding her hands up, pressing firm kisses on each pad of her finger. The voice wasn't his. 

"Rey." It repeated, making itself heard in her mind, drawing her out of a memory she knew had been cherished all these years. Finn came into focus, and so did Poe, and so did the bustle of the dwindling crowd around them, so did the Chinese. 

"Are you okay?" Poe asked, holding one hand out in concern and tentatively touching her arm. She didn't flinch or try to maim him again.

Was she? "Yes." She answered, but she was still floating, the engendered memory lingering like a soothing balm in her head, like the scent of her lavender candles. "I'm fine." 

"Thank you for.. the meal." Kylo muttered after a while, gazing silently into Rey's eyes. He knew what to do, somehow, in this situation. She let him lead her out of the mall after saying their good byes to Finn and Poe, who were only too eager for Rey to find rest. 

Poe'd said she was dense, and that Kylo was, too. But that child had been anything but dense as time passed by. He wasn't dense when he led her out with a strong, solid arm, wasn't dense when he ushered her in the car, wasn't dense when he leaned over and kissed her forehead, and with it, kissed her wistfulness away—sadness on his behalf. 

Kylo wasn't dense. He knew his feelings for her was something to treasure. And she treasured him, too, in the moments she started up the engine and the whole ride home. They were each other's treasure; each other's stronghold.


	16. Hard Choices, Fleeting Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “On Waterloo Bridge with the wind in my hair  
> I am tempted to skip. You’re a fool. I don’t care.  
> The head does its best but the heart is the boss—   
> I admit it before I’m halfway across.” --After the Lunch, Wendy Cope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still ecstatic when I woke up this morning. I pulled off my first hosting job, got to see our college magazine be published (in which I am a member of the editorial <3), AND managed to collect enough to see Foster the People!!! I'm feeling happy so why not a double update?

After drenching her nerves with Chamomile tea, changing into her worn velvet pajamas, and shimmying into her downy duvet, Rey made herself forget for the night the happenings of the short days left for her to make a decision. An hour to go and it would close their first day, leaving only two to ponder. He volunteered to sit out of the sleeping arrangement, gathering his limbs in a lotus position on the floor of her living room instead. She muttered for him in her sleep not long after, his mind rattled from slow-moving meditation. He was beside her in a matter of seconds, allowing her fingers to card through his hair, and closing his eyes. 

One meek whimper later, her fingers went lax against his scalp, dragged into the heart of slumber. The girl had kissed him. Rey kissed him. It had happened before. But he was caught off guard this time, surprised. He touched his chest, felt his heart beating fast against his ribcage in a way it never ever once had before.

He looked at her, at the pressed up side of her cheek against the pillow, a slight drool forming there.

Tired. She was always tired, every day. And when she wasn't, she would clean the house until anyone could practically eat off the floor. She'd make herself tired on the days she wasn't keeping watch, as though passing out kept the very real horrors of her life from making appearances. Kylo's heart twisted for her. He'd missed her mantras, no matter how infuriating and oblivious they sounded, missed her eager discussions with him about the next time she'd want to have her Human companions over even though he'd declined. She made tea for herself in the evening, retired to bed with enough determination for the day ahead, and went home with an air of cheeriness, a spring in her step.

But now, it had waned, all in the span of one day. Breakfast was forgotten, tea was made haphazardly, once nimble fingers crippled with stress and tension. 

Perhaps if he hadn't shown up, she wouldn't have experienced these things. He pulled her wrist from where it had made its nest at the crook of his neck and nuzzled her pulse. It throbbed along with the beat of her heart. 

But he knew that wasn't true.

She needed him, which was why the Realms brought them together. It wanted to rearrange itself; it wanted to protect its newly conceived order. They were the cost. The liability. The losers in the situation and Kylo could do little else to stop it. He pressed a soft kiss on her pulse, eyes bursting gold once more when she smiled sleepily in response, still stuck in her slumber, but feeling him nonetheless. He'd found himself fond of her even before they'd shared a kiss. Unsurprisingly, it was that night that curled embittered realization in the pits of his stomach. It was the night he'd spent curled and caged within her arms as she assured him,  _Even though you're a Demon._ And now she'd meant it, he thought _,_ finding himself trailing soft kisses up to the crook of her elbow.

_"I know that look anywhere."_

It had taken only the words of an infuriating Grigori from her mother to make him acknowledge the strange feeling in his chest. 

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"You have to tell her." Poe considered him carefully, as if trying to imagine him with hollowed out eye sockets, iron limbs and massive horns. Perhaps he was. He looked into it, though, and found Rey there instead, mostly beside the dusky skinned male, embraced, or held, or smiled at. He tried not to grit his teeth too much. The man before him laughed. "She'll know, Kylo."_

_"She'll know." He repeated, punctuated it with a sigh._

_"And what of your Human?" He deflected the pain to him, and now they were both sharing the deep gash in their emotions. The dusky skinned man reappeared in his mind's eye, an accurate image depositing itself in his head courtesy of the man before him. Oozing, and soaked in nothing but love and adoration. Love. He frowned._

_"Duty calls, Kylo." He replied simply. Though his mind screamed the opposite._

_"We're not meant for things like this." Poe said carefully, and for a split second, he saw Rey in the way he hunched sorrowfully in on himself, staring at the dents in his fingers. "And yet why do we stay?"_

_"If it had been anyone else, would you have not regretted it?"_

_Poe's sight pulled up, staring silently while his mind screamed no. "No. And you?"_

_"Rey is bonded to me."_

_"That wasn't the question."_

_He chewed his lip tentatively, eyes flashing on and off like the light switch that controlled Rey's bulbs at home. No. "No. I will not."_

_"Then we're losers." Poe whined, laughing humorlessly. "Falling in love too fast to people way out of our league."_

_Kylo looked puzzled, observing the wrinkles forming beside his once bright eyes now mired with a sadness that somehow fractured his soul. "I do not love her." But it was hard to say, the words sounded like they didn't fit together, didn't fit the way she was to him. Poe knew of it, and that was why he'd laughed. It was odd that it made him soften at that, in that small slip of agreement between them._

_When Poe spoke next, it was with such unabashed pain. "I know you don't mean that now, and you will never mean it even when you're torn apart. I know because I've said it before, I've said it with Finn."_

He spotted her moving from the corner of his eye, arm dislodging from his grip only to snake forward, until his face was a hair's breadth away from her. Then she pulled him just a little closer still, placing a sloppy little kiss on his left brow. 

"Kylo." She murmured in her sleep-addled haze. “I’ll make that cake for you again.” 

He allowed himself a smile.  _She'll know_ , a reminder that constantly looped in his head. So he settled in beside her, cramming himself against the wall, legs dangling off the edge. Her limbs were welcome distractions. He tucked her close, wrapped one of her arms about his waist and pressed her palm against his lips. He pulled her flush against his bare chest, having shed the sweater for sleep, and whispered into her hair things he'd come to realize in his heart for her.

_You are beautiful._

_You are strong._

_You are brave._

_You are precious._

_I am yours for the taking._

She was asleep, cocooned in unconsciousness. Maybe that was what made his lips graze bravely and gently against hers, what made his eyes burn with the beginnings of an emotion he'd long forgotten. But it bubbled up now, like it had simply been dormant, hidden, and refused to be acknowledged. He said it with a fiery passion, mumbled it in time with the sharp clench of his heart. He'd say it in her sleep instead, and he'd mean it this time, he'd mean it with all the heart in him left to break. 

"I am in love with you, Rey." 

 

* * *

 

 

It was the cusp of the evening rush hour and the people on the streets, and riding on buses thinned out by the time. Poe guided them in his car. He was only too glad to hand over a snug-fitting pair of well-tailored dress pants for her and Kylo, and two overcoats made for them both, bearing the emblem of the Witching Council. Sheepish was what he'd call the grin he'd shown Rey at her doorstep, hunched shoulders and a smile that was teetering over the edge of a cringe. Poe admitted he'd been preparing for the day Rey gets whisked away back to the Witching Realm even if it wouldn't be of her own volition and reiterated why he still stubbornly believed Leia had it within her to know what to do with the pair of them. Rey snorted, pulling the heavy assortment of new deep midnight blue fabrics accented by squeaky-clean silver buttons and buckles and all streamlined sleeves and pant legs. She wondered why it was all pristine and crisp and formal and he'd replied simply that Leia was a stickler for order and organization. It must have been brought to them under the impression that they might need to act out a tellable lie. Rey was, after all, a criminal, and Kylo was a Demon, reason enough for them to lose their heads without preamble within the Council. 

Kylo wondered how that was going to play out, blunt Human fingers digging into the tight seam of his deep overcoat pockets, staring at Rey. She was bundled in the overcoat, too, like an infant pup smothered in fabric. He'd wanted to reach out and touch her, but the sheathed sword she had swung around her torso kept him from doing so. Its charm a strong repellant to his kind. So instead, he pulled his long legs inside the car when Poe offered the passenger seat and sat there wordlessly as Rey took up all of the backseat, forgoing sitting upright and flopping with her body draped completely on the two seats. She dropped the heavy sword on the floor, too, and it landed in a thud against the bottom. 

"What's the sword for?" Poe asked, putting the car in reverse and maneuvering out of their spot. Rey huffed. 

"It's from Luke. Some sort of pen just two days ago, now, a fucking sword." She groaned, pulling a hand up and rubbing at her eye with the heel of her palm. 

Poe glanced at Kylo, returning his eyes forward only when they started down the road. "Answers would be great, tiger."

"It is a family heirloom."

"How come you can't touch it?" 

"It's hexed against Demons." Rey stated blankly, now staring out the window at the slight drizzle of snow hitting the transparent surface. 

"Nasty."

"Can't we just teleport there? Why do we have to use a liminal portal?" Her tightly kept frustration was petering out, all the tension she'd kept around the last few days. The tension he was the first hand audience to. 

"No can do. You know better than anyone that the Witching Council prohibits the use of magic outside their premises. And only Council members are authorized to use magic inside. If you manage to cast a spell inside—which you _won’t_ , of course—and you're a low-level Witch, they'll—"

"—detain you for power misuse and keep you overnight, allow you only one visitor and only let you go once your precious mentor deigns to let you out. I  _know_." 

Poe gave a low rumbling laugh, glancing at Rey from the rearview mirror and then full on surrendering to his laughter. 

"What?" She asked. Kylo had one brow up as well. 

"I can't believe you actually said yes." Poe replied carefully, but still cheerfully. 

"What do you expect me to say anyway? It's not like you'll leave me alone even if I declined. Besides, that  _pen_  stabbed an angry hole on my only cabinet." She hissed, pointing at the offending metal at her feet. "And the next thing I know, I have a 35-inch sword poking out of my furniture and warding off my Demon." 

It was a slip of the tongue, but Kylo relished the possessiveness she exuded when she'd claimed her his. Poe felt it in him, that small swell of joy, but didn't comment on it. He kept his fiery golden eyes on the road instead, keeping both ears open for the conversation but not contributing. 

"You ever tried, you know, connecting to it?"

"Meditation hasn't helped me these days. Everything is so stressful and threatening and real. Emptying my head is a luxury and I pray to the gods for proper sleep now more than I ever have." 

Kylo felt Rey's stare at the back of his head, knowing full well that aside from those prayers, his presence beside her served her fortress. 

"Have you used it?"

"Once." She replied. "To punch a hole in the plaster of my bedroom wall. I hit it with the decorated pommel and let it slide under my bed before storming off to watch a marathon of Rupaul's Drag Race until 11."

"You didn't punch a hole  _through_  the wall?" Poe offered, rounding the curb of a residential building with a few boarded up windows. Rey recognized it and the neighborhood. 

"I thought of it." Rey replied, staring at the sidewalks as Poe coasted slowly. "But then my priority was returning it to a pen. Stabbing the wall would be counterintuitive and quite possibly ineffective."

Poe snorted, gripping the wheel and swerving across the dark road when a bedraggled teenager swayed dangerously close to the car. He swore audibly. "Hitting the wall with the butt end of a three-pound sword is ineffective."

Rey shrugged. "Lesser evil."

Kylo chanced a look at the sheathed sword at Rey's feet, and at Rey's draped body on the back seat, the way her eyes were screwed tightly, like she was desperately shutting the world out. He almost reached out to touch her, but remembered the searing reminder that the sword was there, watching. He retracted his hand in the smallest motion, hoping it went unnoticed. Poe hummed lightly. It was all he needed to hear for him to know that he'd been caught.

"So, it's a family heirloom," Poe began, in a slow mumbling pace, as he kept his eyes on the road. Rey laid motionless at the backseat, so maybe Poe intended for him alone to hear this. "Why is it in her hands now? Why'd Luke give it to her?"

He looked at the rearview mirror just as Rey was turning around, a soft snoring sound following quickly along with evening out breathing. He smiled the tiniest of smiles, the only one he'd let slip in front of someone who wasn't Rey. "She is the chosen one."

Poe hummed. "In English?" 

"What—"

"Sorry." He stopped at a red light, turning only slightly in his seat and gesturing vaguely with his hands. "I meant, in words I can understand."

Kylo Ren looked out into the road in front of them. The streets were dappled with dimming lights from the buildings and small three-story apartments littering the area, while streetlights showed a few bustling people beneath it, eager to leave home for the night. Kylo blinked. "The sword was created by my grandfather, who had previously been the chosen one."

Poe snorted, stepping on the gas once the light turned green. A child beneath the streetlight remained looking at Kylo from his window. 

"I really don't get this fascination for chosen ones. But, whatever, it's the world I was born in. So, what happened with grampa?" Kylo turned to him instinctively after he made a left. 

That was a story he wasn't expecting to recount to anyone. Not even to Rey. He looked at Poe. He was not deserving of this part of his history. Rey was. But still he didn't tell her. She'd asked him what the pen was long before it grew to be the sword he'd always coveted to have as a child, and now his hypocrisy was biting down hard at his core. He decided to crack and tell Poe, but not before giving Rey's mind an experimental tug, one that assured her. She shifted in her position, unsure of what the tug was in her sleep-addled state. He would explain everything someday. He turned to Poe. 

"My grandfather created this sword to vanquish the evils within the Realms. But won over the power to reign the Demon Realm instead. Realizing his weakness, he ruled the Demons with might until his death, finding that he had the freedom to practice and give power and teach those who would want to attain that power. He was revered in the Realms. But shunned by his own kin." Kylo mumbled the last part, as though saying it aloud gave voice to the hurt he'd felt from a very similar experience in his life. "He offered that power to my Uncle. But he foolishly declined and put an end to my grandfather himself, using that very sword to vanquish its creator."

"Huh. Valiant but kind of sick."

Kylo didn't reply.

"From what I've heard from your mother though—"

Kylo froze, clenching his fist in silence. His  _mother_. Of course.

"—that doesn't seem to be all there was to it."

"What gives you that impression?" On the outside, he was calm, impassive, one could even say he was nonchalant and uncaring. But admitting that to himself would be lying. He was angry, the taste of his ire pulling him into doing something he knew he'd regret. Worse yet, something Rey would see. So he kept still. 

"Your mother says that Anakin was a great man. But he got too swept up in his power, you know, got drunk on it."

"He was a better being for it."

Poe looked back at the sword when Kylo tilted his head ever so slightly its way. He fell silent and for a few minutes, as Kylo was looking out at the slight sheet of snow on the sidewalks, the sound of the engine was the only thing floating in the stuffy little space. His legs barely fit but he tried not to think about it too much, tracing the light silver trim on the car door's interior to try and maintain his composure. Poe exhaled loudly. 

"Do you honestly believe that?" 

Kylo's body snapped up so quickly at the implied accusation that it nearly rocked the whole car. Poe gripped the wheel tight, determined not to let his obvious dread show. He failed fantastically. Rey stirred around, blinking the sleep from her eyes, but Kylo's voice dropped into a dark, dangerous place. "What makes you think you know enough about me to ask me that question?" 

The knot in Poe's stomach was tight and thick with tension, it was so pungent, his fear, that when it wafted in the air, Kylo drank it in. It ignited a small part of him that yearned for that emotion. He'd never touched Rey's emotions with the cruelty he'd done others. Or at all. Rey's emotions were spared to him only when she decided to, and even if he'd seen her fears, known her troubles, he'd kept distance or helped only to ease them. But he was angry this time, and Rey returned back to her slumber, any opportunity for Poe to hide under her protection gone. Poe knew this, he was inhaling silently, in and out, Kylo was drawing the fear out and feeding on it. 

"Talk, _underling_." He growled, the gold liquid in his eyes burning slowly. Poe was slumping in his seat, becoming slightly boneless and the fear just kept coming. So he contented himself with letting it wash over him, feeling more like himself than he'd ever been. His blunt fingers scratched wildly in his palms, his nostrils flaring. " _Talk_." He said with a dangerous smile. Ah, yes, this was more like him. He felt devious and powerful at the prospect of completely sucking Poe's fear out of him, at the prospect of torturing him and turning him into a wayward soul without emotion. 

"Kylo—"

"What's the matter?" He'd played nice for so long. He'd respected the beings Rey brought home as much as he could and still this one had the audacity to  _question_  his decisions. Hadn't he been polite with him? And what of that conversation at the grocery? What of baring his feelings? Had he made a terrible mistake? "Can't find your voice, little halfling? Can't find it within you to keep out of other beings' business?" 

The car skidded abruptly, front wheels screeching on the slick pavement. The interior lurched forward, causing the side of Kylo's head to hit the overhead mirror, Poe's chest to slam into the steering wheel, and Rey's body to fall on the car floor on top of the sword. Poe eyed Kylo with dread and stuttered, fingers flying to his neck where his veins were popping from the effort of trying to supply more air as Kylo siphoned it out. 

"Kylo?" Rey mumbled, eyes unfocused but senses sharp as a knife. Soon her lids were fluttering up and out, skin paling and Poe was gasping and gulping for air.

"You cannot—" he bit out, eyes dancing with a warning that even Rey pulled back at. "—ever lecture me about the decisions that I have made—"

"Kylo, stop!" Rey yelled above the haze of his high. Fear trickled down from Poe's subconscious so poignantly. It was so easy to snuff him out like that, to pull his insecurities from the very pit of his mind and bring it at the forefront, overwhelm him, and then disintegrate him from the inside out. Soon his eyes were watering, fat droplets of liquid quickly turning red. He was crying blood tears. Everything was so easy, he didn't even have to think. So that's what he didn't do. Poe's cheeks hollowed considerably, cheekbones jutting out grotesquely, the light from his eyes dimming. His teeth bit into his lower lip and when he darted his tongue out, it was almost like Poe was offering his dread on a silver platter in front of him. His life was a quivering light in the distance; so easy to swallow in his darkness. 

A pair of small hands dug in his arm through the thick fabric of the coat, and then a fast, stinging slap landed on his cheek. Just like that, the high was broken, he was brought further from his artificial cloud nine and deposited back to land in an ungraceful heap—his legs bent at an unnatural angle in front of him inside the car, with both arms stretched on either side of him, one cramped between his flank and the seat behind him, and eyes wide open with panic and staring up at a very red, very livid Rey.

"What did you do?" Rey growled, eyes wildly and angrily flying between him and Poe, holding onto his head awkwardly from the backseat, trying to ease his breaths haplessly. Kylo's anger burned at the edges of his mind and bled into Rey's. She hissed angrily. 

" _What did you do?_ "

And because he can't seem to get a hold of himself and pull his anger out before he did anything rash, he replied petulantly. "I taught him a lesson."

"Kylo," she seethed, "he's  _white as a sheet._ "

"I'm—It's okay, Rey—"

"No, it's  _not_ , Poe." She used that tone again, the tone that told both men that she was in charge. Rey viciously yanked the sword from the beneath her feet and shoved it so close to Kylo's face that it felt like the skin of his face was melting to the bone. He hissed angrily and grappled for the door, blindly finding his escape. 

"Backseat, now." She commanded. Kylo scrambled for the little latch on the car door as fast as he could, desperate to escape the unseen fire the sword emanated, like an amulet to ward him off. He snorted once outside, sprinkled with languid snowfall, and opened the backdoor. 

Rey had pushed Poe hastily onto the passenger seat, trying her best to be gentle despite her anger. Even from his place in the backseat, he could see the tendrils of her anger swirling impatiently at the back of her mind, trying to scratch their way out of the wall she'd kept them behind. He tried to get a better grasp of her anger, quenched his in order to study hers. He was unsure why he was doing it. Maybe he wanted so much to explain himself despite her anger. She knew he hated talking about his family. She must understand. But he knew saying that would only serve to deepen her hostility against him. As much as he hated it, she'd developed a kinship to Poe Dameron, even before knowing what he was. 

The car moved forward only seconds after Poe had managed to rearrange his withering limbs into the cushions. He admired his handiwork despite Rey's loud huffs of breath in the driver seat, designed to calm herself. She barked for Poe to give her instructions to where he was supposed to take them. The container port. It seemed. Rey made a right. 

The sword sat idly beside her left leg, swaying slightly in the car. Rey sped abruptly when a fresh bout of anger rolled inside her. Kylo had long forgotten his, but Rey's was building at each turn, increasing each passing second Poe wheezed. She threw more than enough glares through the rearview mirror, cowing him. 

Cargo shone in the distance, wood and fiberglass and the ridged walls of the containers, dappled by the lights from the spotlight. Few people littered the area, dwarfed completely by the large rectangular boxes of welded steel and colored in solid reds, yellows, blues and greens. A small gate off the side of the entrance led into a darkened alcove of the port where there were no guards in their posts and there were no Humans milling about with carts or clipboards. Rey swiftly cut the engine just as Poe was struggling to sit up. 

"Don't." Rey commanded and then turned to Kylo. "Get out."

His eyes lost focus on one of the containers like it had suddenly been the most interesting hunk of Human ingenuity he'd ever seen. Wrong. It was the fridge. Rey nudged the tip of the sword to his knee, he hissed and scampered off to one side. 

"Out.  _Now_."

He obliged, careful not to dip too long in her mind to find out what she was obviously going to command him next. The passenger door opened and Rey growled from the inside. "Lift him. But if you so much as try to kill him  _again_ , I will skin you with this sword." She gestured harshly towards Poe, who was trying and failing to get up. The liquid that kept his bones moving had dwindled perilously after Kylo's attack and now his bones and his mind felt extra heavy and weightless at the same time. Kylo hesitated at the door, watching as Poe’s body shook from the effort. Rey slammed the horn of the car and shook Kylo's very frame. 

"Kylo!"

"Y-yes." He tried saying, placating Rey's taut nerves. Her glares were steely, her lips grim, and even when he lifted Poe up and against his shoulder, she was looking at him with such ferocity that he wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly decided to plunge the sword through his core. But she didn't do that. Instead, she rounded Kylo and lightly tapped—or, given her ire-riddled haze,  _tried_  to—Poe's cheek to keep his eyes open. 

"Hey." It sounded gentle, perhaps, if one didn't know better. But Kylo knew she was quivering underneath that thick layer of tenderness. "Poe, please stay with me." 

"He is not dying—"

" _Shut up_. I'm not talking to you."

Kylo clamped his mouth shut, grip tightening enough so the other man didn't slip. 

"I'll be fine, Rey." Poe croaked.

"We have to get you back." She shakily replied, taking the sword back in her hands. Kylo stepped a little a ways on instinct, taking a small step back. 

"You have to fix him." 

"I can't—"

"Of course you can't. Demons and their chaotic lives. Just keep carrying him." And then she turned to Poe, slinging the sword up and over one shoulder, letting it hang beside her by a ripped section of her curtain. 

"Poe," she called, breath misting slightly, "I need you to tell me why we're here." 

Poe took a deep shaky breath as the first string of his words came out as incoherent syllables. Rey glared at Kylo. Hard. 

"Put him in your arms." 

He followed, easily shifting Poe's weight over his shoulder and transferring his limbs to cradle him up front. Rey was on him again in no time, shoving the sword further at her back to keep it from hurting Kylo. The knot in his stomach loosened. At least she was still focused and not so angry at him that she would purposefully let the sword hurt him. 

"Poe?"

"We're—" Poe glanced up, eyes glassy. "This is where the portal is." 

Kylo looked around just as Rey's frantic eyes took in the surroundings. Tall, thick and unforgiving shadows cloaked them from the rest of the world, but the dull light of the waning moon kept everything preserved in a luminous glow. Poe moved in his grip, lungs dragging air in and out at a laborious pace. 

"This is all your fault." Rey hissed at Kylo, who chose not to reply. "What portal?" She asked Poe, turning around and pressing the sword beside her left hip, preparing for anything. 

"S-straight ahead." 

"Come on." 

Kylo followed.

 

* * *

 

  
The hard knock of the sheath against metal almost made Poe slip past his hold. Rey winced and cursed loudly, and in the dark and the metal containers surrounding them, it was amplified even above the storm of her fury. Kylo tried to reach for her and make sure she was okay, but she silenced him with a glare so vicious it was reflected in his mind despite the inky darkness.

"Straight's not an option anymore, Poe. Right or left?" Rey strained, fingers curling around her bruised knee. Poe let out a sound that registered to him as 'left' and he nodded to the direction as Rey trudged down the path. It was the same inky blackness around them, now with the added texture of wet and muddied soil beneath them. Rey cursed all the way, alternating between wiping a stray streak of mud that had somehow managed to mark her face and both trying to keep Poe lucid long enough to find the portal and seeing if he was still kept alive. Kylo saw this in her head and, despite the ferocity of her repeat accusation, of her thinking that he would do such a thing. Again. He wouldn't deny he wanted to do it the first time, but this time, he would choose to exercise restraint. It was what Rey needed. 

The ground beneath their feet shifted into more perilous terrain. The mud solidified into rock that dug under the balls and heels of Rey's feet and scratched at the sides of Kylo's legs even through his pressed slacks. Rey groaned painfully and Kylo was desperate to reach out to her. But she'd always said 'don't' or 'stop' if he so much as bumped his shoulder with hers by accident. Water seemed to drizzle from above them, too, getting into the soft locks of Kylo's black hair and making the coat around Rey's shoulders heavy. 

Rey took an angry glance at Poe. "Are you sure we're headed the right way?" 

A fat droplet of liquid fell on Rey's cheek, she viciously rubbed it away and shrieked angrily. Poe gave a wheezing chuckle. Kylo tried very hard not to drop him on the uneven ground. "Are you battered and bruised?" 

As if on cue, Rey took a miscalculated step back in an attempt to steady herself and was met with harsh solid rock on her left ass cheek. Kylo growled low in his throat.

" _Yes_." Rey answered through clenched teeth. 

"Then it's the right way." Poe strained to lift his head from the crook of Kylo's elbow. "Keep going forward."

The slim path the containers made seemed to open out and stretch across the unseen walls around them and suddenly, the dark path seemed to have split open abruptly. Where Rey's breathing had been stuffy to her own ears before, now they were small reverberating sounds off far, invisible walls in the distance. The rocks kept jutting out. It took all of her willpower not to just scream out her frustration. A chill ran up Kylo's arms and legs and spine, too, even Poe gave an indelicate shiver despite the fatigue in his bones. The darkness suddenly became colder, the temperature dropping. Solid rock became slippery with fresh water, it seemed, rather than moss and mud and in the distance, a single dot of light reflected in their eyes. 

It was too small for Kylo to discern what it was but his and Rey's feet moved closer to it, like it was a beacon calling them forward. Poe's weight settled on his arms after a nasty step forward made him lose his balance and slightly crash against Rey's back. In no time, Rey swung the sword forward in front of her and pushed her feet hard against the slippery rock to keep him upright. He juggled Poe carefully before trudging again. They lapsed into silence, their mutual fixation to the unnamed light in the distance keeping them focused.

Kylo broke first. "Are you still upset with me?"

Rey found her footing carefully and stepped on another large rock. She looked down at where she managed to discern where his eyes were from the meager lighting. Which was easy, since his eyes burned like candles, dripping solid gold. "Yes."

And, again, because his petulance is a curse. "It was necessary because he was meddling in my business."

Rey scrunched her nose. It was dark because she was against the light, but Kylo knew just fine what Rey's scrunched button nose looked like. 

"You don't have to try to kill them all the time, you know."

He tilted his head. "Then.. what? If you are offended of what someone has said, do you not wish to—"

"—correct them.  _Politely_." She emphasized, shaking her head and turning back around. "You don't try to end their lives."

"And if they have gravely offended me?" 

"Then," he heard her sigh. "Then you correct them again and try to understand what they're trying to say."

"Would killing them be all the more convenient?" 

She stilled just as the light expanded into the circumference of Rey's wristwatch. It suddenly occurred to him that she'd been with his cat form for so long that she'd forgotten what he was actually like beyond the fur and the whiskers. Rey realized what he was doing, just as she always does, and then she gave him a look that screamed of hostility, yes, but also, that burning need to make him understand. 

"Not if you're thinking of killing your own friends. Or, in this case,  _my_  friends." 

He thought back to the few instances they'd made small talk on her couch about her hopes and dreams and all of the things he'd loved hearing ever since he admitted to himself that she had unknowingly crept under his skin. He thought back to Rey in a cozy embrace, wedged in between Poe and Finn outside the cafe where she worked. He glanced at her, the light now casting a dim glow against her slightly torn, but extremely muddied dress slacks.

"Are we... friends, too?" 

Rey froze again, soft, damp tendrils of hair sticking against her neck. In the pale light, Kylo remembered his confession and thought if he should repeat them for her sober ears. But he refused. Rey gave him a quizzical look, and tucked a stray hair behind one ear. "No." She said firmly. 

"Then what are we?" 

It was the normal escalation of the conversation, was it not? But Rey seemed to stew in silence, footsteps light on the uneven terrain but heart heavy in her chest. He didn't know what to expect, if he was expecting anything at all, but somehow, he could understand the slight twinge of pain that made his eyebrows twitch viscerally. In his arms, Poe Dameron watched him carefully, unbeknownst to him and exuded the same sadness he felt in the darkness.

 

* * *

 

 

Rock gave way to soil again once they'd reached where the light was hitting what looked like a curtain of surging water, coming from above and pulled harshly down by gravity. Sprays of water found their way on Rey and Kylo's flushed cheeks and aching muscles and the scent of freshwater seemed to be enough to cause Poe to stir once again. The rest of the path they'd painstakingly navigated in the dark began to be illuminated in the dull light. The rocks peeked at least five meters from where the soil showed tufts of green grass just beyond the water. The ceiling was filled with stalactites whose colors varied from a creamy beige to glittering obsidian hues and opaque crystals all dripping with mineral-rich fluid. Green and pearl slabs of opaque stone reflected what little light entered the mouth of the cave. Stalagmites stood dangerously off on each side of the gaping cavern, jutting out like deadly geological incisors. The darkness accumulated where the light failed to reach and Rey realized that Poe had led them through a secret passage and that once she stepped outside, they would find themselves somewhere west of the Witching Council, placing them on one of the many life-rich woods of the Witching Realm and pinpointing their location to—

" _’Sentries between the living and the dead.’_ The Whispering Willows." Kylo recognized, breathlessly. 

Rey spun. "How do you know that?" 

"It is a sacred area of the Great Woods. More aptly known as the Dominion of the—"

"D-dragons!" 

Booming shrieks rang out loud across the moist stone cavern and the very pocket of hard granite shook from its core. Kylo, lost his balance, fell on his knees gracelessly, but still managed to keep Poe in his arms long enough to set him down in a safe patch of wet sparse grass and mud. Rey spotted a grayish blur pass quickly beyond the heavy curtain of water and reached with clammy fingers to the inside pocket of her topcoat for a bolline. Kylo turned the exact moment she twisted it in her palm, sharp scythed tip turned forward. He studied it with interest. 

"That is your weapon choice." Kylo asked through a clean statement. But Rey felt mocked. He looked at the sword she'd thrown at her feet instead, and then looked back at her. The shrieks became sharper, pitchier, and closer. She lost balance when the cave shook and watched as Poe tried to scramble to safety, away from the spot directly below the stalactites. 

"I can't use that!" She gestured widely with one arm to the sword. "It's too heavy!"

Kylo pointed to the bolline. "That would not cut either  _Yst_  or  _Maji'_ s hides. That's a garden tool."

"What? Who's  _Yst_?  _Maji_ , what—"

"REY!"

" _You shall not pass!_ " A booming voice resounded, sharp and extremely solid phalanges pulled her out from inside the cave, past the roaring waterfall curtain, and out into the vast space of gnarly trees whispering amongst themselves in words she didn't understand. She found herself face to face with the largest pair of eyes she'd ever seen, bluer than the bluest sky and deeper than the deepest sea. The eyes stared at her with wonder, and she could see herself in them, amongst the swirls of different shades of blue and silver with sharp flecks of orange and gold. It was an unusual combination but it served its purpose. She leaned forward despite herself, transfixed and lightheaded. 

"REY!" A voice, one she knew but couldn't turn towards. 

She didn't see the obsidian scales on a second dragon hovering just inches away from the one holding her captive, darker than the darkest night, a deep darkness that didn't reflect the warmth of the midday sun coating the lush greenery. 

"REY!" The voice screamed again. The obsidian dragon whipped past and stared Kylo down with his equally blue eyes. 

"Are you the Mortal?" The black one snarled.

"No." Kylo said carefully, unmoving but legs parted defensively. 

“None of them are Mortals. They can  _see_  us." The one holding Rey spoke, eyes flashing towards his darker counterpart. Rey snapped out of the haze slowly, eyes fluttering out and refocusing on pearly white scales reflecting with a greenish purplish blue sheen in the sun. The entirety of his body seemed endless, long, and scaly, and reflective in the sun. Warm, too, like the first peak of the sun after the chill of the winter months have rolled away. 

Rey looked towards Kylo. "Kylo?"

"I see you met my counterpart, Yst." The white dragon announced. His voice was gravelly, deep, more pronounced and rumbled from the deepest crevices of his stomach. Kylo looked between Rey and Yst. 

"Greetings." Yst boomed, lifting one open palm out. It almost looked like a small wave. Rey's brow furrowed. "It is nice to make your acquaintance." 

"And I am called Maji." The white dragon added, turning Rey to face him again.

All of a sudden, Maji froze. Even Yst froze, both their noses up in the air and long, thick coarse hair protruding from the sides of their gaping nostrils floating absently in the air. Something flashed in Yst's eyes and in the span of a second, Rey fell from Maji's hold and landed in Kylo's waiting arms. Kylo stumbled backward, crashing her body above him before she bolted back to the cave. 

"NO!" Rey screamed. 

But the dragons were ignoring them. Kylo took to his feet and pumped his legs as quickly as he could, pulling Rey in his arms before Maji's spiked tail could leave an ugly gash on the side of her face. Rey screamed. 

"Let me go! Poe is in the— _Kylo_!" She begged, blunt nails digging into his forearms, but he didn't let go. Maji moved one massive claw gently in front of the waterfall and it parted in the middle. Yst stuck his claw inside and Rey screamed. Loud and shrill. Kylo held her tighter, whispering words of comfort in her ears uselessly. When Maji let the waterfall slide back into place, Yst already had Poe in his claws, limp and still. Rey choked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is me emphasizing that though Kylo is a huge sap around Rey, he is still a Demon and therefore, is not inherently good. That said though, I still have reservations about this chapter but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! 
> 
> xx


	17. Desperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand  
> They danced by the light of the moon,  
> The moon,  
> The moon,  
> They danced by the light of the moon." --The Owl and the Pussy Cat, Edward Lear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too much of something can be bad for you; but not too much Frank Ocean. Enjoy, Reylo babies!

At the sight, Rey shoved against Kylo's chest, falling to the ground in an ungraceful heap of bruised slacks and slashed cotton gabardine. Rey wailed loudly, tears stinging her eyes, and Kylo couldn't find the strength to follow. Until Yst whizzed past them so fast that Rey spun in place at the impact and found herself in Maji's claws once more. 

"Let me go!" Her vision clouded with tears, leaving hot trails when they left her eyes as her small fingers reached in vain for Poe. Her body lurched forward along with it, too. Maji clicked his tongue. Rey's head snapped up.

Rey blanched. "What the  _hell_  are you—"

Yst studied her with curious eyes. And then looked at Poe, like he was expecting the man to do something.

"The Guardians of the Witching Realm," he began, gesturing to the twin dragons reflexively, though weak in his state. "Magic and Mystery; _Maji_ and  _Yst_. Roaming around the borders to filter those who pass through."

Rey looked back slowly to Maji, who had grinned despite himself, sharp canines peeking out from pink-lined lips. His chest was plated with thicker scales and upon closer inspection, his floating tendril of a beard appeared soft and silky. A touch proved it to be. Maji rumbled with laughter. Kylo snorted.

Black and white, with scales that were made of the sturdiest material. Harder than diamond but silken beneath the pads of her fingers, like petals. Realization settled heavily at the bottom of her stomach. Joy—childlike and profound, replaced the fear that she'd felt moments earlier. She'd heard all about them, read about them in the dark of her quarters in the Academy. She'd read about them late at night, and sneaked past the heavily guarded doors of the Academy's library to steal books about them and continued reading. She read of their tales doggedly, followed every word written of them with a fiery passion and longed to meet them but never had the chance. Until now. 

And she had squealed like a little girl. She shook her head.

"Maji?" She sounded curious. Poe was set to the ground. Yst made a nest for him amongst a nearby meadow of flowers, securing a spot for him beneath one massive Willow tree reaching its branches up to the blessed warmth of the midday sun. 

She was giddy as she followed it with, "Yst." Kylo sidled closer by her side as Maji set her down, regarding the dragons carefully from where they were floating like sea serpents, suspended in the air, looking down at them with wonder and curiosity, the edge now lost as Poe was deposited on a softer patch of vegetation.

"That we are, little girl." Yst winked, surging forward delightfully when Rey reached a palm forward. The dark dragon nuzzled the tip of his snout forward, where a sharp scale protruded at the end, smack dab in the middle of his gaping nostrils. He breathed hard and closed his eyes. Rey's hand warmed against them, the hot puff of air snaking up her arms and hitting her face. She laughed again. Kylo's eyes shifted curiously to her. 

"What's your name, little pretty lady?" Maji followed forward, effectively brushing Kylo aside to fall on his behind. Rey reached another hand in his direction until they both flanked her sides quietly, with a silent mirth settling in their bones. 

"Rey." She replied happily, chuckling more when a low string of rumbles resounded in Yst's throat. 

"Pretty name for a pretty lady." Maji declared. Kylo resisted the urge to try and land a fist against Maji's curled spine and trudged, instead, in the direction of Poe Dameron lying on a bed of grass and petals. He looked at Kylo with deep, mahogany-colored eyes and sunken cheeks. Kylo averted his eyes. Poe Dameron always seemed to know what he was looking for and it reflected in his eyes. 

Rey was giggling between the two dragons, looking like a child and smiling like he'd never seen her before. And so that prompted another snort from him. Poe's hushed laughter caused him to swivel his attention to him and away from Rey. "What?" He bit. 

Poe smiled that easy smile he still kind of hated. "Beautiful, aren't they?" 

His eyes widened and his cheeks colored and, because he can never help it, he looked back at where Rey was, now sitting cross legged on the grass, chatting amicably at serpents of black and white sprawled playfully about her. Poe was talking about the dragons, with their sharp, expressive blue eyes and—beyond the hostility—their puppy-like tenderness. But his eyes always fell on  _her_. He watched the way her lips parted and her teeth peeked out when she talked, the wet cling of her hair against her cheek and neck from the curtain of fresh water that doused her. Her hand came up to caress a thick lock of black hair lining Yst's spine. She giggled and it silenced the constant moans of the Whispering Willows around them. It rang like a bell in his head, like the single chord on a harp that always put him to sleep. Poe smiled where he was. 

"You got it bad, kid."

Kylo's attention reverted back to him, snarling to try and hide his embarrassment. It was useless, as always, Poe Dameron fought for the desire to sit up and won. Even if he tried, Kylo was still taller than him though they sat side by side. 

"They charmed me, too, first time my old man brought me here. Gentlest giants I've ever seen." Poe chose not to expound on his earlier statement, and for that, Kylo was grateful. 

A lone persimmon floated in the air before her, wrapped in the power of Maji and brought to her waiting palms slowly. She traced fingers against the scales beneath Maji's right eye and kissed him softly on the only spot of his forehead she could reach. Kylo's heart burned not from jealousy; it burned from an overwhelming desire to keep her safe and secure again. Her gentleness should be protected from the jaded outside world. 

"You know these dragons, don't you? I heard in the cave." Poe was still talking, but his eyes tracked Rey's every move. She bit into the flesh of the persimmon. 

"I have seen them once. But I was very little. They do not remember me." 

"I bet. Because if they do, they'd drone on and on about where they'd seen you."

He grinned, but it wasn't because of Poe's declaration. The juice seeped into Rey's shirt collar, coating her neck in a sheen of red and bathing her in such a sweet scent that he could smell it from where he was. "Yes." It was more of a sigh, really. Beside him, Poe's grin grew wider. 

"Sorry about what I said before." Poe apologized, coughing silently against a closed fist. Kylo's eyes strayed back to him, to his hollowed cheeks and his considerably thinner arms and, for the first time since he'd given him harm, felt a twinge of regret for it. 

Kylo nodded. "I apologize as well."

The glint of the sword from the cave floor flashed in the corner of his eye, looking like it had called over to him. Kylo felt that Poe understood somehow. So he listened when he talked again. 

"I guess I can somehow understand. Where all this is coming from." He gesticulated but Kylo did not see its meaning. 

"What do you mean?"

Poe shrugged. "The whole 'my family betrayed me' biz. My old man hailed from this place. Past the East, on the other side, the calm plainlands with the quaint little houses and quiet yards and vast green spaces filled with the tranquil of country life. My Mom thought the life wasn't for her, left for the Mortal Realm and never came back." 

Kylo allowed a chink in his armor. "A little like mine." 

"Except it was the Council that wanted her." 

Kylo mimicked the light roll of Poe's boney shoulder. "Did it not occur to her that I wanted her, too?" 

He thought of days ending terribly at the Academy; of nights that mocked him for not fitting in. In those nights, he'd wanted company, wanted to say something, but all that listened was the emptiness of their little house beside the lake. There was no father to come home to, sitting on the fireplace, or a mother to kiss him as she cooked in the kitchen. It was the same gaping loneliness he felt now, eased only with Rey's presence. 

"She loves you, still, Kylo, and, please don't kill me when I say this, but, she still cares about you."

Kylo fell silent. Rey was lying down in the grass now, observing shifting clouds overhead with the dragons. 

"I know. I can feel her presence always."

"So why didn't you do anything to acknowledge it?"

His lips pursed tightly and for a moment, he thought about a reply. "Because I have chosen my own path. I have decided what must be done with my future, and acted on it. I never needed her guidance. She was never there to provide it."

"She regrets it." 

He expected the familiar claw of anger to appear, the chill of resentment in his bones that made him grimace. Nothing came, nothing but a blank stare forward, looking but not seeing. "I hope she had felt regret years ago. When her only child needed her the most." When the words tumbled out, they were calloused, hollow. 

"She said those exact words, you know. One night after my evening round in the city. And her eyes reflect it always, carefully hidden when she faces the Council but loosened in the confines of her office. She weeps on her desk and hates herself every day you’re away from her." Poe spoke this with a dagger in his chest. He spoke it like it was the truth that kept his life from falling apart. And maybe it was. For someone who had lost a mother, perhaps his had become one. 

"She has done that to herself. I chose what I thought was right."

"And so did she." He was gentle when he said it. No hint of accusation in his words. "You just didn't meet halfway, I guess." 

"Only my father managed to meet me halfway. And now he is felled from my own hand. I have not a name to call for this place. It is just a memory from the life I've lived years ago. The world of the boy who always wanted and never had."

"Are you any better now?" It was with a careful curiosity that Poe asked, not wanting to feel like he was intruding. For once, Kylo allowed him to intrude, if only for a little, and he thought absently if this was why Rey had found a friend in him. 

"I am. I get what I need and I never want for anything. I am able with my powers and I am stable with myself." 

The next question shouldn't have rattled him to his core as much as it did. But it did. "Are you happy about it?" 

Happy. 

It was such a vast word. 

It could mean anything from the color of the sun as it set, its tangerine lines stretching across the horizon and bathing everything with a warm waning light. 

It could mean the salty air of the seaside flitting about his face, throwing his hair every which way with glee. 

It could mean the embrace of Rey on a chilled evening; sitting on the couch watching from her television and sharing a bowl of stale popcorn or pizza too cold to be considered delicious.

It was such a vast and  _cruel_  word.

Happy. 

He looked at her again from where she was still lying on the ground giggling. "I am." It was barely above a whisper, maybe because Rey deserved the tenderness of his declaration. Poe sighed beside him, though he wasn't sure if it was for his behalf or not. 

"With Rey, my heart swells with a joy I have never known before. With Rey.. I am happy."

 

* * *

 

The sun was a lazy blazing orb in the sky once Rey decided to finally sit up and declare that they had to keep moving. It would do them no good to travel in the night, even though she could whip out a few spells they could use to create shelters or fetch food items from the lush forestry around them. The Witch Realm was blessed with clean running water everywhere, and fruits were abundant and plump, always present. The air was clean and the soil rich. Nowhere near the devastation of the Mortal Realm; nowhere near its insane fascination with concrete giants protruding to the skies. 

Maji and Yst groaned pathetically and let gravity pull their bodies to the grass, rolling around to catch her attention and bring her back. She beamed brightly at them, but politely shook her head, hopped onto the jutted out rock at the end of the waterfall and lifting one arm up to brace the water against her sleeve. She fetched the sword in silence and when she came back out, Maji and Yst had slithered in the air and disappeared somewhere she couldn't see. Her eyes drifted to a silent Kylo Ren sitting cross-legged beside Poe, who had somehow regained a little color in his cheeks though it was still quite hollow. 

She'd shoved her bolline back into a pocket inside her soggy, battered trench coat and slung the sword back around her body, letting it rest slanted on her shoulder blades. After a while, she shrugged the wet coat off and folded it in her arms to let it dry later

"That was fun!" She chirped, chipper than usual. The petal-softness of Maji and Yst's hides stayed at the tips of her fingers and for the first time in a long time, it felt good to be back home. 

Kylo had a completely different opinion, mind racing in excitement at seeing her this close to him again. She reluctantly reached over and petted his silken raven locks awkwardly. He leaned forward unceremoniously, face colliding with her left thigh. Poe chuckled from where he sat and studied them curiously. Kylo stared at her for one full minute, kind of drinking her in, but really, she knew he could smell the dragons in her skin and the grimace that followed told her he didn't like it. 

He stood to his feet, pulled one of Poe's arms gently and unexpectedly piggybacked him. Rey set the pace for the trek and passed several pockets of rich flora. Flowers bloomed all around them, framed by twisting branches high above and massive trunks and glistening leaves. The sound of water crashing against rock faded into nothingness and another thin, clear stream of water came to view. Orange and pink colored the sky. Rey turned and admired the sunset on slight tiptoes, before sucking in a breath and closing her eyes, letting the incoherent mumble of the grove lull her in a short haze. It was cut short by Kylo, of course, standing beside her and nudging her shoulder with his bicep and nodding over to an abundant patch of green under a luscious tree. Its root peeked out from beneath the soil, thick and sturdy, ample place to sit for the fast approaching darkness in the horizon. She relented with no further protests and let Kylo set Poe down on his behind atop the grass, his back pressed against the thick root. Kylo, sensing that he needed to do something that could count as retribution, disappeared into the tangerine-drenched wood to find sticks and twigs and branches to burn for light in the evening. 

Poe was silent against the root once Rey set her severely wounded trench coat on the trunk. She sighed. She'd been so angry at her limited options that she'd only had the foresight to bring along an ill-fitting hair tie she had to twist around more than once just to keep hair from falling in her face. It had dried in the time that the dragons spent the most part of the early afternoon with her. 

She closed her eyes with a smile and remembered them again. Beside her, Poe stirred, staring at the bruised trench coat. He tapped Rey's knee. "I'll patch that up for you."

"Poe, you don't have to." But he was strong enough to lean past her bent knees and grip at the coat's collar. It was as if the return trip made him regain some of his strength back, like a child huddling to its motherland for assistance. She nodded dumbly, satisfied with her conclusion, and continued watching the slow descent of the sun in the visible horizon. A gaping parcel of grass and vibrant bushes opened to their left, catching the pink-orange hues of the sun and mixing them with dewy greens and natural brown tones. 

Poe sowed the fabrics together with gentle motions of his fingers in the air, weaving them together with hypnotic slowness. 

"How were the dragons?" Poe inquired, eyes bright but focused on the task. 

Rey practically burst out of excitement. "Oh they were super fun to be with, Poe! And they knew so much. They said that the Whispering Willows were their favorite place in the Witch Realm. It spoke to them in all languages— _all_ , they could understand all of them. Like the cosmos have leaned down and filled the branches with its secrets. They told me of the history of  _everything_  I asked! Including Don Quixote! They  _know_  Don Quixote!"

Poe chuckled, raising a brow. "Wasn't he that fictional madman?"

"The real wonder is, how they even knew about Don Quixote." She laughed with him, watching his fingers move thread and weave it in place to put the seams back together. "They knew about every other thing about the gods and goddesses, too. They know  _everything_." 

"Like how you're the Chosen One, too?" 

Rey huffed, cradling one cheek on one palm. "Yeah. Completely blew it off in no time, though, like it's a difficult thing to talk about. I don't blame them." 

He stared at her from the corner of his eye and kept listening as she spoke. "But they didn't detect Kylo a threat though he's a Demon. I wonder.."

Poe, in Kylo's absence, decided to do the elaboration. "Kylo exercises a strong willed mind. He was able to hide his true self long enough for you to distract them. He just blocked himself out after you emerged from between them like a beam of sunlight."

Rey's lips curled in distaste. Poe's love for nicknames sprung from hideous analogies like that. 

He handed her trench coat over once all the tears have been pulled together once more. "Big bad wolf's got a huge crush on you, you know." 

Her mind unceremoniously drifted to two—three, now, nights ago. His quiet confession slicing through the haze of her sleep. It had taken every ounce of willpower in her not to peek one eye open and study his face as he said the words with such terrifying vulnerability.

_"I am in love with you, Rey."_

More-than-a-huge-crush was what it was and Kylo was only really brave enough to say it in her sleep. She felt like she'd disappointed him for not feeling the depth of emotion he felt for her, and it chipped her exterior when he asked that question in the cave. 

_"Then what are we?"_

What were they, really? 

"How did you know that?" She asked instead, looking at the sword at her feet and tracing the smooth surface of the coat in her lap. 

"Anyone who has eyes will know from the way Kylo looks at you."

"Like an overprotective mother hen?" She teased. 

" _No_." Poe said, but after much thought, added, "Well, yes, but that's beside the point."

"Yeah. What's he look like to you then?"

"Lovesick." 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Lovesick in that way that tells you he has warring emotions. It's like he's constantly caught in the middle of a vicious tug of war that he can't escape." He explained and Rey could agree this was true. 

"But he doesn't look like that when he sees you." 

"What's he look like?" She didn't know why she was asking. What good would it do her to know? She already felt ashamed for not being able to give him an answer in the cave. 

"Like you're the only girl in the world for him. Or like the world was made to spin under your command." 

She snorted. She should have known it would come out as cheesy as that. Leave it to Poe to play matchmaker and he'd whip out some textbook-type ways to convince you. But Poe was not convincing. He was stating. And that kind of chilled Rey's bones. 

"That how you managed to snag Finn's pure little heart?"

"No." He replied confidently, and even with hollow cheeks, he was handsome. "He'd have fallen for me anyway. We were destined, he and I. Like you two." 

Poe was joking as always. For the first part of his jovial declaration. The last part, however, was said with a ferocious seriousness that made her feel a little sorrowful. "He’s confused with his feelings, Poe. It's just the stupid prophecy that tangled us. That's all." She tried not to sound too sad. Failed. And then returned to stare at the dying ember of the setting sun. 

"It wasn't like that before, you know." 

Rey blinked.

"Kylo wasn't part of the original prophecy." 

That had Rey's ears perking up. "What?"

"See, the prophecy of the Chosen One has made its rounds within Initiates, Priests, and Druids alike but it passed only by word of mouth. Simple details, really, one witch, one demon, collision course, enemies. One overthrows the balance, the other solidifies it. Succinct. But no one really thought it was going to come true. The treaty has been signed, peace is restored by amicable agreement, the Realms didn't need a Chosen One. But then, the Chamber of the Coming roared open one night and the Prime approached it with shaky feet. And there it was. Everything they've ever feared. Except now there were two demons; one against you and one on your side." 

"I don't understand. The Council doesn't believe in the prophecy of the Chosen One. Only Leia does. You said so."

"They  _chose_  not to. Kept quiet about it and waited it out for the most part. They observed the Initiates every year, tracked every student's progress—including mine—but tired of it. Believing the prophecy of the Chosen One brought too many risks to the Witching Realm, so they promptly decided it wasn't worth revisiting. And became willfully ignorant about it. They tasked Leia with investigating your case to try and get her to give up and come up empty in her search so that when she stops, this whole Chosen One biz dies down.

"But the attacks happened and then we saw Kylo with you. The pieces were falling into place and the threats were making sense. But the Council remained motionless in their ignorance, and turned Leia down each time she asked for an extension in the investigation. They knew of her son, too, and accused her for using him to garner support. That," he sucked a breath, "that bruised her the hardest. It's what prompted her to take matters in her own hands. What prompted her to talk to you." 

"Do you think it'll work?" She said after a while. There was a very real danger they could get caught and she could get imprisoned. It was her and Kylo's fear. 

Poe's eyes were filled with hope. "It has to." 

 

* * *

 

 

_"He’s confused with his feelings, Poe. It's just the stupid prophecy that tangled us. That's all."_

Ever since he could remember, he'd consistently avoided the temptation of eavesdropping. Though it had been pure accident, he wandered back just close enough to where Poe and Rey were engaged in a serious conversation and plucked the words out of the air with interest. He'd caught too many words to remain disinterested and he felt so agonizingly pathetic for it. One too many times did his mother send him on a pitiful trudge up the stairs to his room on the second floor, chewing the inside of her cheek as she lectured him about decency and respect. 

 _Decency_. 

She called the prophecy 'stupid.' 

 _Respect_.

He emerged from the long shadows of the trees about him, their stretching branches bathed in an orange hue. He kept his face blank, and tried harder than he ever had to keep his voice from dripping emotion. Things changed now. He had an inkling at what the previous flutter in his chest for her meant but if she wasn't going to acknowledge it, then neither was he. Poe greeted him first with a slow wave of his boney fingers, eyes crinkling at his smile. Rey was sitting hunched on the root, hands planted on either side of her legs and little strands of hair swaying in the slight wind. 

She was so beautiful it ached to look at her and try to feel nothing. 

"I found these wooden pieces. Are any of you elemental witches?" 

Poe's eyes lit up at the question Kylo posed and lifted one digit up in the air. Like a lightbulb flickering to life, a flame sprouted from the heart of the piled up firewood, engulfing the gnarled wooden fingers in a crisp orange blaze. It crackled when it broke through the twisted pieces of lumber. Kylo blinked softly at it before huddling to its warmth once the dying sun took its last slivers of heat along with it, a slow grey creeping into the sky and shifting it to a much darker hue with unhurried ease. Kylo relaxed against the grass beneath him and reached palms forward to the makeshift hearth. In the process, Rey had took to her feet, scanning the sullen-looking trees before picking one specifically. It was a little smaller that its company, trunk thick but branches a little more wiry than most. Kylo could  _swear_ that as she touched its trunk, the small, once lonesome looking tree jolted slightly to life as Rey pressed her forehead against it and murmured in a tongue he didn't understand. The leaves flourished, shaking and sprouting out of its once barren branches and looking almost relieved. The trunk ascended slightly, too, expanding small on both sides and branches reaching out to touch at those finally beside it. Rey knelt at the foot of the tree, still whispering in hushed tones a prayer. A beat of silence, Kylo noted, and Poe was watching, too, jaw slack and eyes bright. He wondered if he had the same expression. 

Wind howled around her just then, wrapping her inside a churning vortex of leaf and pieces of dirt. Some of it, still muddied, got into her face, smeared atop the arch of her eyebrows and landed brown little spots on her button nose. She didn't seem to care. In her mind, the feel of the living earth on her cheek gave her solace. She laughed. The ground seemed to reverberate with her happiness, seemed to laugh along with her, and before long, more vines came from the depths of the forest, circling and joining the churn of leaf and soil around her. She pressed two hands against the tree bark once more, whispered more words, and the leaves shifted, taking the command, and weaved themselves in neat rows along with the vines, hovering, it seemed with more order than it looked on the outside. The vine kept the leaves from shaking free or untangling. It landed gracefully in her waiting arms—a makeshift blanket of leaf and vine against her fingertips. 

Rey beamed gleefully first at Poe, who was beaming back. And slowly, she looked at Kylo, too, in that shy way she'd always done. The way she looked like when he swelled with pride at the instances she'd managed to conquer a spell. He was proud now, for sure, it was dripping from his mind to hers. Her cheeks colored and Kylo could swear, too, that he'd never seen her so much more beautiful in the twilight and the fire, and the forest and all the green things around her. 

Everything made so much more sense now.

The bolline. 

He would never admit it. 

But as he looked on to her with so much pride, he saw his mother in Rey's eyes for the briefest moment. It was like being young again, this fluttering in his chest. Rey made him want Ben Solo back. Rey made him want to be in his mother's embrace again. 

And then he remembered all the times the Supreme Leader had chastised him for referring to Leia Organa as his mother. He was punished severely for it every time, punishments that made him stronger than he'd ever dreamed of. He stopped calling her of it, had managed to become impassive and devoid of emotion if he said her name by accident and developed a mandatory personal rule to never actually be in a situation he needed to say it. So it wasn't much of a problem. 

The trip to the Mortal Realm, however, and back to the Witch Realms gave him a sort of free-spirited bliss to do the things he would not do in the Demon Realm. Rey inspired this slight trace of freedom in him, tugged it out effortlessly so. She was eliciting that confidence out of him again, in this moment, as she laid curled up in her blanket of leaves, surprisingly soft to the touch. He'd touched it earlier in admiration and she'd let him, beaming through and through. He reached one hand down to smooth over the creased lines on her forehead, her head turned away from him. 

Poe had dozed off quickly, wearied by the trip through the cave. The scent of the faint traces of blood on Rey's legs reached his senses. He acted on the desire to see if she was okay, so he hooked both arms beneath her armpits and dragged her out of the blanket with little resistance. Though she looked very peeved. 

He gave her one long look. "May I see your wounds?" 

She grumbled tiredly and forced an 'I'm fine' through chapped lips, like he knew she was wont to do, but he kept her in place, stared her down to get an answer that wasn't no. And just like always, his persistence wore her patience thin as she nodded. He seated himself on a bed of grass just far enough to give ample space to stretch Rey's legs. He untied the muddied shoelaces that kept her tattered rubber shoes in place and slid her feet out, letting it drop lightly on the forest floor. She hissed when a cold chill rippled through the soles of her feet while Kylo peeled the soiled socks away from stinking feet. He grinned when she colored, too embarrassed at the scent her feet wafting in the air. But he drank it in eagerly, though unusual it may seem. He took it as a testament to her endurance, and catalogued it as a blessing of her admirable skill set. Something like smelly feet should not deter one special Rey Kenobi. Still, she kept turning a ruddy shade as he worked up the ends of her pants and folded them neatly up, as high as they could go, and lifted one foot very carefully to examine the small bruises and welts that were a vivid blue purple even in the orange glow of the fire.  

He pressed on a bruise and reeled back when she hissed loudly. She amended it quickly, tamped down the pain and shook her head more for her sake than his. "I'm  _fine_ , Kylo, really." 

As if to prove a point, he found a light swell of skin and muscle at her ankle and pressed there, lifting a brow at her when she hissed anew. Rey huffed, back falling against the root behind her and crossing her arms. 

"You don't have to play nurse for me." 

A chuckle—was that what bubbled up from the back of his throat?—rumbled to the surface, making Rey's brows furrow even deeper. 

"I don't." He admitted. "But I should like to."

"Why?" Curious and devoid of accusation, he could do nothing but answer her. 

"I wanted to make up somehow.. for hurting your friend."   _I want to take care of you_ , was what he meant, but she missed it in his eyes.

"Then heal  _him_." She gestured vaguely to Poe's curled up spine, one hand braced against a rock he'd used as a pillow. "Not me. I'll be fine. I can keep walking with these wounds."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." 

She sighed heavily, the hot puff of air even reached him from where he was. His fingers spurred absently into action, rubbing circles against her calves. Feather light touches she didn't notice so he kept at it. "Why not?"

"We are made to inflict pain. Not retract them."

"So what makes you think you can heal my wounds any better?"

"I won't. This is my attempt to apologize to you."

"Why don't you just apologize to him?" 

Poe groaned in his sleep very lightly, turning a little to the other side, facing away from the fire. Kylo looked back at Rey. "I have."

She frowned at him for another few agonizing seconds, dipping into his mind in the process. He gave easily under her familiar push, mind open and playing back the apology he'd let slip through his lips. He carefully led her pulsing consciousness from wandering anywhere near the blatant moment he'd stared at her and swelled with affection. There was no need for her to find out. Using her own words, it was  _stupid_. Rey pulled herself out of his mind with a light flicker of relief in her hazel eyes and the tension was lost from her nerves. Her feet relaxed, too, he hadn't even known they were tense. He looked down at them and pressed his thumb experimentally, glancing up at Rey to see if she'd push him away. She didn't. He massaged her feet in silence, letting the ins and outs of her breath guide him in his ministrations. 

Until she spoke again. "Kylo?" 

"Hm?"

"Was it true.. what you said the other night?"

He halted mid-rub, staring at a toe that flinched when he stopped. She didn't elaborate, only projected the night she was in his arms when he thought she was completely overtaken by sleep. It was the softness of her lips that made his skin crawl with—embarrassment? 

He nodded very slowly, averting his gaze. 

"Why?" She might as well have spoken in the tongue of the trees because he couldn't quite put into words just how hard it was to keep himself from smiling whenever she did, or how his heart stopped whenever he thought she was in danger.

"You make me feel." He began slowly, picking out his emotions and trying to find enough words to describe their depth, their reach in his soul. "It is only with you that I have experienced these emotions, only with you that they seem to throb the most. When you laugh," he smiled because the quiver at the corner of her mouth told him she was about to, too. "When you laugh, its like listening to the ethereal chorus of the Naiad Fountains."

She burst out laughing, albeit shyly, and lifted a brow at him. "You had best be careful with that. Naiad's are quite deceptive with their gentleness."

He countered smoothly. "You are not." 

When she didn't answer, he continued. "When you smile, your eyes crinkle and your irises spark with so much life that I am drowned in them, without a means to escape."

She laughed again, louder now. Kylo worriedly glanced at Poe, but the man was snoring too loudly for him to assume that he was still conscious. 

"You sound like Poe!" She sighed. 

Kylo's lips tugged into another smile. "I apologize for nothing. Does my honesty bother you?" 

"Hones—what, so you meant that? What you just said?" She was still chuckling. 

His eyes bore into hers, and it made her redden once more. Somehow, through his silent gaze, she knew the answer he was going to give. One long arm lifted in front of him, fingers reaching out to the soft planes of her cheek. She let it slide against her skin, let it fasten against her nape. "I love you." 

"I—"

Kylo smiled sincerely, tenderly, and surged forward to kiss her forehead. She sucked in a soft breath. "You don't have to feel the same way."

Oh, but he wondered if she did. If even just a small part of her did. He pulled back swiftly, gracefully, and lifted one feet up to his lips and kissed her calf. A shiver ran up her spine, embarrassed, was the way her brows furrowed but something-else was the way her fingers curled at her sides and dug into the grass. Kylo kissed her other calf and smiled when her breath hitched. 

"Let me wash your feet." He whispered against her skin, inhaling the scent of earth and fresh water. "Let me take care of you."


	18. Five-Fold Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “..under the radiant towers, the floodlit ramparts  
> must have wondered at my impulse to touch her,  
> which was like touching myself,  
> the way your hand feels when you hold it  
> because you want to feel contained.” --Broadway, Mark Doty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boop. See that rating change? 
> 
> I listened to Self-Control by Frank Ocean on repeat for this. Which is kind of ironic.

Kylo led her into the moonlit forest after she'd managed to not be too embarrassed to be lifted bridal style in his arms. He talked to her the whole way, grinning and smiling and telling her soothing words to alleviate the tension in her shoulders. And soon, though she would say that it wasn't the right word to describe it, she was  _melting_  into the warmth of his chest and basking in the musk of him. He kissed her a lot, too, but in places that were safe. He always asked before giving them. His lips ghostly but warm all the same as they found the vein in her temple or the flat of her forehead.

The forest was dim, save for the dust that floated in the air when the slivers passed through the trees. It sparkled, almost silvery in the pale bluish-white light, and the scent of fresh water worked its way past the leaves and carried itself on a gentle breeze towards Rey's waiting nose. Soon, the grass opened to what looked like a dip in the soil, a pool of fresh water illuminated by the moon. It was sitting in a wide open space, where the canopy extended circularly instead of reaching across the gaping hole overhead to each other. The water glowed blue and reflected white on its calm surface, the moon a steady image smack dab in the middle, only to be rippled when Kylo set her down over the ledge just close enough so both her feet dipped into the cool water.

She shivered viscerally. Kylo took notice, wiggled his arms out of his topcoat and let it sit on her shoulders. She watched the slow smile that formed on his lips and held the fabric closely. It smelt of Kylo's sweat, of course, and the stuffy scent of his musk was mixed with the mineral-rich water that dribbled down the seams. She didn't mind it that much. Not when he was pulling his sweater up and over his head—wait.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "Preparing to wash your feet." He said it like it was the only possible conclusion to him stripping. He shimmied out of the wrinkled dress pants, next, frowning at the cuts for only a second before he was tossing them aside, too. A decided lack of underwear made Rey look away. She should have known Kylo didn't bother with something such as underwear.

Water splashed on one of the wounds on her knee and it sprang goosebumps on her arms, made her teeth grit slightly. But Kylo was there in the space of a heartbeat, kissing the dried blood with water stained lips, eyes closed and lips warm. Red found its way up her neck and shoulders and filled the space beneath her eyes and about the apples of her cheeks. Kylo looked up to acknowledge them, much to her disdain, and she tried her hardest to portray a scowl in spite of her embarrassment.

He tugged her softly by gripping at her ankles, letting her feet dip deeper in the water. He worked his fingers gently across her skin, rubbing off soil and mud from between her toes, her toenails, even, and massaging her heel and pressing his thumbs at the balls of her feet. An unintentional moan left her lips as she leant back on her arms, palms planted firmly on the grass. He pressed his fingers continuously in silence, filled only by the soft pass of air between Rey's lips. He kissed her, too, pressed his lips against the pads of her toes, nuzzled his nose against her ankle and nipped at her calves. 

"Kylo." She hadn't meant for it to sound too breathless.

He looked up, setting one of her feet back under the water and waiting for her inquiry. 

"How did you know that.. that you loved me?" 

His fingers paused against her skin, thumbs pressing ever so slightly, before he swam just a little closer and rested his forehead against one of her bended knees. He sighed. "It was that night. The night you had a little too much to drink. I think.. I think I had already fallen without realizing it."

Ah.

A small unbidden smile found its way on her lips and she realized, she couldn't quite fight it back down because it was the truth of her emotions. So she smiled, and she carded lithe fingers through his raven locks, lined with streaks of white in the moonlight. 

"I remember that night." She hummed, trailing fingers against the side of his face. His eyes sparked with something like joy, one wet hand lifting from beneath the water and rubbing out the muck from her other wounded knee. She tensed under his touch, biting her bottom lip hard to keep from wailing out. But Kylo was gentle, she registered vaguely, kissing the cloth-covered skin around the wound and coaxing her nerves to relax. Mind clouding and eyes blurring, Rey reached out to pull him away by tugging at his hair. 

"Why are you so nice to me?" She sounded desperate. 

"Why do you not allow me to be?" He begged with his eyes. 

She scooted closer, pulling him slightly up with what little strength she had, letting his wet biceps cling to her thighs, his large palms finding the slim of her waist. She kissed the top of his head. "Don't you think this is just because we're bonded? What if you don't really like me? Wouldn't it be selfish of me to acknowledge a love that might not even be meant for me?" 

Her eyes stung with unshed tears, clouding her vision in a light white haze. Kylo reached one hand up to catch against her cheek, trailing wetness up her shirt collar and letting it slide down the front of the fabric. "How do you say that when you know I have always been yours?"

"I don't know that." Came her stubborn reply. Kylo's brow furrowed painfully, mouth twisting and fingers curling up to untangle her hair from its tie. It fell in loose, greasy waves but Kylo didn't care. Rey felt the tears fall, not even bothering to keep from sobbing. The coat fell in a heap behind her. "I don't know if.. if this is just because we've been together.. for a while. It was mandatory. It's just.. it's just the prophecy. Please, Kylo, don't do this."

But he wasn't listening. That should have been her cue to get up, to not relish the firm and gentle way he had her in his arms. It should have been her cue to make a break for it when he pushed up on his elbows and met her chapped lips with his wet, plump ones. "I love you desperately, Rey." It was whispered to her very soul, tugging at her core. "My love for you is true. Please let me prove it to you. Please."

The look on her face must have been pitiful, because now he was whispering against her throat, too, begging understanding from the storm behind her eyes. " _Please_."

She felt a light pull from the small of her back, a silent plea to be given permission. She nodded lazily, pressing her lips against his warm ear. She let him take her down to the water with him, let him plant reverent kisses against the side of her face, down the column of her throat despite the fact that she was soaked now from the tips of her toes to her chest. Their lips met in the lazy dance he began, crashing comfortably with each other, molding and moving in time with the steady drumbeat of Rey's heart against her ribcage. He spun her around with him in the water, kept her afloat with the quiet power in his arms and the love from his mind to hers. 

The world devolved into blurred blues and silvers and sparks against her skin, heating her from the inside despite the sharp bite of cold around her. She tipped her head back as he lavished her neck with gentle nips, occasionally branding her with his teeth and licking it into a mark that told everyone she was his and she let him. Finding belonging in his mind and his body. Somewhere along the way, he'd maneuvered her out of her wet shirt, had figured out the mechanism of her bra as he suckled contently against the crook of her neck, the back of her ear. Her skin was hot to his touch, she knew, because his fingers fluttered, his breath hitched, and he pressed her so close that it was becoming hard to breathe. His affections culminated in the hardness that pressed against her bare stomach, reflected in the way his blunt fingers scratched impatiently at her sodden dress slacks. 

He let out a whimper when she pulled away slightly, staring at his parted and panting lips and the watery tips of his dark hair. Finding the button of her slacks, she popped it open, guiding his hands back to pull it down her hips. He struggled a little, but the focus on his face filled her with adoration. She giggled slightly when he looked up questioningly, but she silenced him with a kiss. He fumbled all throughout the process. His determination made her smile, and soon, the victorious grin he flashed her made her giggle anew, wrapping her arms around his neck and collapsing into his strong arms. 

His hands found the swell of her behind. His fingers burned a hot trail of sensation as he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her panties and for a heart-stopping moment, he pulled it off with heavy pants against her lips. Being pressed up against her in complete and total nudity did things to Rey's body and soul that she'd never experienced with another being before. Kylo made her feel, too, made her feel like she'd never felt before. He glided them across the water and for a long second, Rey wondered where he was ushering her to. Until her back hit smooth rock and her spine arched perfectly against it. 

Kylo descended on her breasts as soon as it bobbed up from beneath the water. His lips sucked gentle bruises there, too, at the top of her breasts, down the sides as he licked rivulets of water and sweat. Maybe he found belonging with Rey, too. Maybe they were both lost children finding their way into each other's arms and finding themselves. 

His mouth was hot with his breath ghosting down south as she felt her hips lift, fighting the gravity from around her and breaking the surface. Kylo watched, transfixed, at the water that snaked their way down her sides like serpents, and licked them dry. She felt like she was coming apart under his fingers, her core pulsing with more than just want, her heart thumping with more than just her nerves. 

He just let himself love her like that. Like it was the most natural thing to do. And she cried again, because she wanted him to. Because she wanted him to so badly.

She watched with bleary eyes as he nudged his nose at the apex of her thighs, rubbing the tip of it against the bundle of nerves beneath her curls. She cried out to the sky, feeling Kylo's mind swim and mix with hers at the same exact moment, drenching her with sensations she'd never felt before. 

She watched with glassy eyes as Kylo sucked and nibbled her folds with such fervent devotion. Her nostrils flared and for a small moment, she thought she was going to drown both in him and in the water. But he held her upright with one hand, pulling her hips closer to his face by her lower back, as he nipped and dipped his tongue deep and drank her in. She mewled, legs shaking about his shoulders and wondered if this came any close at all to love. 

Because the way he looked at her when she came from his mouth, the way he groaned pitifully against her core and sent her shivering from head to toe felt deeper than love itself. He  _worshipped_  her. Perhaps Poe was right. 

He let her body dip back down and kissed her on the mouth once he was close enough once again, his tongue potent with her taste. 

 _I love you_. His fingers against her hips. 

 _I love you,_  said the way he pulled her ever closer and kissed her tears away when he entered her slick entrance. At that, she cried anew, sobbing with the swell of her emotions and the way he stretched her and made her feel every ounce of devotion and affection in his heart for her. 

"I love you." He said it against her lips. "I love you." He repeated as he stuttered in his thrusts and gasped as she clenched deliciously around him. 

"I love you," was his delirious mantra when he lost control and pounded her hard against the rock. She looked at him through the tears, watching him come apart, too, grunting and gasping his love, praying with her name on his lips. 

"Rey." He said, and it hung thickly in the air and he repeated it over and over even as tears rolled down his cheeks, too. 

 _Rey,_ screamed his mind and she licked at his tears, kissed his eyelids as his pace became erratic and his hands tightened enough to bruise. She shattered again before he did, throwing her head back with his name on her lips, convulsing around his length and scratching his broad back raw when he shot deep inside her in warm, rippling ropes. 

"I love you." He said with jaws slack. 

"I know." She replied, her forehead pressing against his like he once did when she needed a place to call home.

 

* * *

 

 

Whether or not it was a good thing that Poe didn't say anything about her and Kylo's escapade in the middle of the night, Rey wasn't sure. On the one hand, it was a relief that she didn't have to deal with Poe's familiar brand of smug satisfaction at being in on a secret that was meant to be kept from him. (Rey wasn't sure if him finding almost everything out sprang from the fact that he was a Witch or if he really just had the knack.) On the other, well, it was like walking on eggshells, except, the floor was nonexistent, and the smirks Poe'd been plying her with when Kylo wasn't looking did nothing to alleviate the tension coiled inside her. It also didn't help that Kylo was still as oblivious as ever, even when she was coloring even at the slightest touch he gave her that caught Poe's eye. In the end, all she could do was swallow thickly and resign herself to Kylo's small touches, pushing the discomfort far back and focusing instead on the trek. Kylo could only sneak short-lived touches of course, to the tips of her fingers, sometimes, or to tuck an errant strand of hair that fell from her otherwise tight bun. The sword still doing its job by throwing unimaginable heat in Kylo's direction every few seconds he tried to get any more closer to Rey. 

Poe had urged them to circle around the plains that led into nearby villages, for sure, opting for the protection of the dense wood to obscure them. Eventually, she relaxed in the silence and listened to the heavy footfalls of Kylo beside her. She knew these woods, knew which shrubs to pluck berries from, poisonous, and herbal alike, knew what patch of land to look out for Mandrake roots and knew which flowers were in season and the best to pick for a specific potion. She knew where to root for bindweed and which petals to grind and powder, which root to dig up for a healing spell, or which dust to sprinkle on a ritual circle. 

So she fell into familiar steps, paths, and inhaled the dew still misted in the air, dampening the skin of her arms and covering her in gooseflesh. They'd risen quickly, since they were traveling by foot, and avoided any main villages or towns where they would be recognized. Very few Witches ventured to violate the rigorous code of conduct imposed by the Council, so very few Witches actually stood in trial. So those few troublemakers were familiar faces to the locals. Including Rey. Poe probably thought this was the case, too, so she decided to forgive the knowing glances he threw her way. 

The thick trunks petered out once they continued to stalk the forest, opening into a small clearing, a narrow path leading into a quiet little hut sitting at the feet of a sloping hill. Dried long stalks of palm cover the roofing in wilting brown, its withered tips jutting out only a little against the rudimentary frame of the structure. The sides looked like bamboo long deprived of its glossy sheen. It looked only a little battered, as though it had stood the wildest storms. But that was impossible, of course, this Realm never stormed. And that was when Rey saw it.

The plants. The dewy little Ivies dangling and framing suspended wooden mugs, with its metallic linings riddled with rust, sporting little holes in the bottom and dripping with silvery drops of water. Most of the flowers were in bloom, parading beautiful hues of violets, reds, oranges, and yellows, all bursting with so much life. Beneath them, their stems cascaded in chaos, but it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. A vibrant bloom of pink from the Althea beneath pushed its leafy stalks up, nearly touching the tips of the roof, crowding at least two feet on both sides. Its stalks soaked the droplets that hang from the thriving Violets and Yellow Oxalises and the bell-shaped Gloxinias that absorbed the warm sunrise in their delicate pink petals. Snapdragons abounded right beside the Althea's, blooms spitting open and tight like mouths, rich yellows, oranges, and reds, whites staring right back at her like they'd known her presence all along. The Ivies continued their relentless trails around the gnarled stalks of the other plants, dewy and allowed to grow wide and wild, winding down straight pedicels. 

More Ivies peeked from the other side of the hut, and it was fragrant enough from where she stood that she knew the whole place was smothered with flowers and herbs. 

She'd only been here a handful of days, sporadic visits with long, indefinite gaps in between them. Luke emerged from the hut moments later, with a porcelain teapot filled with water. He didn't notice them at first, hobbling groggily but with so much eagerness towards the other side of the hut, determined to finish the task. He watered one claypot she could see, a plant she knew all too well with its stalks reaching up the sky, edging over Luke's full height and sporting a delicate single petal the shape of a teardrop.  _Peace Lilies_. It was Luke's favorite plant. 

"Luke!" Someone finally said. Poe. Kylo Ren was suddenly stiff beside her, fingers curled and digging in his palms. Through the bond, he was a raging thunderstorm of feelings—anger, betrayal, and  _why hadn't the scumbag mentioned anything of this sort?_

She ignored his internal chaos, too busy smiling too sincerely back at Luke. She really did miss him, and even with Kylo stewing beside her, she ran forward, hugging Luke tight immediately after he'd set the teapot down. 

"Master!" She squealed, giggling. 

The man's arms hovered awkwardly around Rey's back. He smelt spicy and minty, like the peppermint tea he loved to drink pre-meditation. So familiar. 

"My lovely little sunshine." Luke searched her eyes for a moment, as he was wont to do. Detecting the emotions that reflected in her eyes, but never diving in too deep to pry the information himself. He gauged her from external cues like everyone did in the Academy. In their moral code, it was rude to pilfer information from someone else without their consent.

Her eyes scanned the vivid forest opening up as the sun began its slow ascent to the sky, illuminating budding flowers, sprouts of grass so green and glossy it shimmered like little stars in the sunlight. Planted Sunflowers over at the edge of the hill stood tall, opening its leaves and gazing its face to the heat of the sun, unraveling with pride before her eyes. She remembered being 10 again and waiting for the Sunflowers to move from their sleep and wake with the sun. It was a singular experience. Looking at it now brought an affectionate and nostalgic tug at her heart, and so she giggled and hugged Luke once more. 

"It's so nice to be back, Master."

"It's very nice to see you, too, Rey."

A mound of soil risen up from the corner of her eyes made her turn, admiring the majestic trunk of the Bougainvillea tree she'd planted with Luke once after she'd been written down for tearing pages from forbidden spell books. Luke laughed as they trudged back to his hut, laughed at the expense of the Council, and invited her to plant something, instead. It was the first time she'd known what she'd love to work with. Peonies, Carnations, Mandrake, Burdock roots, Bloodroot—she wanted to touch so much life. This Bougainvillea tree was the start of that desire, it marked the very beginning of her story, defined her and made her whole. 

Luke led her towards it with a wide smile that showed his teeth, alternating between recounting vigorous stories of his time at the Academy, and expressing in detail the pains he'd experienced to keep the tree growing. Her line of sight shifted inevitably, though, to a thriving green assortment of greens that stood proud and tall, closest to the sloping hill, large, fragrant flowers basking unperturbed under the waking sun. 

"Ah," Luke hummed from behind her. "My Agrimonies have grown rather nicely, don't you think?" 

"How did you get them to grow so beautifully?" She gasped, feeling the petals brush at her fingertips. 

"Attention. Discipline." 

Rey looked at him testily, her lips tugging to a grin. She knew more than to assume that it was the plant he was solely referring to. "Master." She admonished.

"Agrimonies are quite tricky to proliferate, but the key is water. Essence. And consistency." Luke lectured, nodding over to a bud blooming up above the rest. "It also works wonders to talk to them. These are living things who appreciate affection, too."

"Unfortunately," Poe interrupted, leaning over and rocking on his feet, "You're gonna have to consider rescheduling Botany class. We need to get these two to Druid Organa."

Rey blinked back at him, letting the petals go. Luke released a chuckle and stepped forward. "Ah." He said. "We're going to have to paint a believable story, yes?" 

He looked back at Rey when she started gaping and lowered his gaze to the sword slung between her shoulder blades. The look on his face was unusual. As if he was looking on at something both dangerous and important. She reminded herself that it  _was_  both dangerous and important. 

"Wait, what do you mean a believable story? What do you plan to do?" She didn't mean to sound too frantic but the reality that they were sneaking into the Council had finally caught up on her. Terrified, she looked between Luke and Poe for answers. There wasn't a way to describe Kylo's face in the corner, too, but it was safe to say that he was curious about the whole ordeal like she was. 

Poe's reply was in a simple grin. "It's easy, really. Leia cloaks, Luke charms, and we walk in and out like it's nobody's business. Only a Council member can allow entry into the Round Table and the Offices. Luke can only take us past the hall entrance; Leia will need to take over from there."

Kylo echoed the next question in her mind, sounded it. "How will we be certain we will not be identified?"

"Once you've donned your jackets, it will not be difficult to screw in a friendly face." This was Luke, readjusting the lapels of his coat and running his fingers to smooth down its creases. When Luke glanced over to inspect there, Rey wondered if the evidence of their coupling was written on the horrible creases of their lapels. He only grimaced and snuck inside his hut before stepping out with two new overcoats.

"You cannot possibly think such an ambitious plan would work." Kylo sounded skeptical. And aptly so. Rey couldn't fault him, it was their imprisonment—or worse, death—that they were risking. Though she'd done some questionable things in her past and knew she deserved punishment, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.

"It can and it will, Ben. And for your sake, and Rey's, I suggest you keep a positive outlook." He punctuated the sentence with a wink, handing the new overcoats for them to change into. If he saw the way Rey’s finger trembled or Kylo’s tight-lips as they put the coats on, he didn’t say anything.

Luke led the way to a ravine close by, from which he explained he got his water. But it was further up the ravine that they were headed to. Luke guided them through branches of gnarled wood, some trunks splintered and its crevices green with moss. He led them into a bosky outcropping where a clutch of rocks sat atop the soil. They were piled high, neatly arranged, as if they'd been put there for that very purpose. Luke ducked down some vines hanging over a looming branch of a nearby tree. 

"I apologize, my apprentice," he began as Rey looked on, "for not showing this to you."

Turning on his heel, he pressed his back to the granite but his coat was met with no resistance. The rock accommodated him, wrapped around him as he continued to take steps back, until he was gone. Rey blinked. A liminal portal. So close, she thought, to where she'd built little campfires beside the ravine. Halting, she ran fingers smoothly at the dents of the rocks she knew to be around the liminal portal, marveling at the coldness that touched the tips of her fingers when she drew too close. 

"It's been here all along." She whispered to herself before gingerly pushing one arm through the dent. Her arm plunged easily, as is expected, and she followed it through, ignoring the full body shiver. Her fingers curled once she passed fully. The sun was still on the other side. The time was still the same. But the location was all different. As she turned, she saw nothing in her wake. No identical outcrop. Just a noticeable absence, a dead space in mid-air. A hand jut out just then, thinly but grizzled, with blunt fingers. The tanned arm sliced past the rift, bringing a softly smiling Poe out of the space. She stepped back.

"Hey." Poe greeted. Before Kylo emerged close behind him, his whole body shoved through the opening. His face was that of someone who'd done this before—unimpressed.

"Let's make haste." Luke said, once all of them were safely transported. "The Council awaits."

 

* * *

 

 

The edifice, he knew, like it had been carved out of his very mind. Here it lay before him, large, and daunting still, shaking where he stood on his feet. Ahead, he heard Luke utter in forgotten language the words to a secret passage and slowly, nothingness unfolded into color. Stone and marble, weathered but not wrong, gilded metal clasping around wood and towering, decorated columns. Heavy balustrades above were of an off-white color, with lips in midnight blue. The façade was a soft deep blue with swirls in the marble walls. The doors were wooden, accented with silver, heavy and with the proud origin of the institution beyond carved deep within its wood. Rey meandered beside him, the sword slung around her shoulders appearing less heavy than she seemed to remember. She took his hand and he looked to her. 

"I hope," her voice was small and timid, so unlike her, "this works."

"As do I." He tightened his grip as Luke whispered to the door. 

Slowly, the hinges gave and the doors yawned to allow passage, opening up to a narrow decorated hall. Poe strode in first with sure steps. Luke followed with an amicable nod towards them and Rey stepped forward, tugging a less than enthusiastic Kylo Ren behind her. 

It was like seeing the long forgotten years all over again in slow motion. 

Paint streaked the walls of the winding hall, embedded behind pillars that held the structure together were tales and stories of old. It moved with the click of his and Rey's imagination, playing out a scene they'd never been alive to witness. Characters with painted faces moved gracefully, gracelessly, all at once, as the past reminded the present. Of mistakes, victories, chances, and... prophecies. Rey's hand fell from his grip with a gasp. He turned around. 

"Rey?"

"I see it." She shivered, hands in her hair like someone's been shouting inside her head. His eyes tracked the buildings in the painting that didn't seem to belong. He found her in it, too, in a great big ball of blue, with his towering iron limbs beside her. 

"I see it, too."

"Master." Frantic, she called and Luke turned with mild surprise.

"Yes?"

"The prophecy.. it's here." 

Luke threw Poe a look that Kylo was certain meant that he'd never noticed. In a rush, Luke was by her side again, holding her by the elbow and whispering to her to not look. In that moment, Kylo thanked what realm decided to put its weight on Rey's shoulders, only slightly, for at least giving her someone so understanding as Luke Skywalker. He'd seen her agitation at the moving painting, and proceeded to do what it is he had been too stunned to accomplish. He missed her touch too soon, but ignored the pangs in his fingertips and the bright desire to hold her close. 

Once, a Council member hobbled through the hallway, with papers tucked into his arms, and Kylo's whole body pulsed with a powerful sort of charm. The Council member turned, but where Kylo expected hostility, the person looked him up and down and continued forward.  _The Charm of Loki_. Luke had coated them with it upon entry. Now they would appear to anyone as the person they want to see, and with the added detail of their jackets, they're practically invisible. 

Something caught his eye from the same painting that ran their prophecy, a landscape of yellowed green stalks bathed in the sun. He studied it curiously, weaving past the pillars that stood before it and ignoring the cold slithers that passed between his ankles as he ventured close. There, on the horizon, for he saw it was a hill, stood a girl swathed in fine threads of silk and linen. She stood from a distance, head turned and body shaking slightly from.. laughter? 

He heard it now, in his head. He whipped around. The painting stretched to where he stood so that his fingertips grazed on the stalks all around him and the vision bled in his reality vividly. He could see the girl better, though her head was still turned, until she sped down the hill in a frenzy and suddenly, it was his face he saw. Kylo stumbled back, his behind meeting the marble floor. The vision was relentless. In it, he saw himself catch the woman in his arms, cradling her body close to his chest and giving her fond, light kisses to her exposed neck. His gaze flicked to the woman whose hair was adorned with white flowers. 

He knew those brown eyes anywhere. He'd seen it too many times before. But where he'd seen her a warrior, a survivor, an ill-tempered creature, here she seemed like royalty, exuding her power and influence in every twitch of her wrist, in every stretch of her smile. Whereas beside her, he seemed nothing more than a Mortal. Dressed in deep blues, body and hair devoid of instruments and accessories that spoke of his high title. Just as their lips were inches from each other, the landscape curled, washing away the clearing and engulfing it all in a harsh red light. Green, living earth was replaced with unforgiving rocky terrains, laced in heat with lava and fire. A lone figure stood from a cliff that overlooked a deep trench of molten rock. Over to the side, was a stormy apparition, with hurricanes for eyes. He reached out to her with a fervor he'd never seen before, begged to her, it seemed, from the way his lips murmured silent pleas and prayers. 

The figure on the hill twirled, and from the delicate tumble of her silken red hair down her shoulders, he saw that she was a woman. With the same turbulence dancing in her eyes. Her skin was a lively green, pulsing and dewy with life, like his Uncle's garden plants. Her fingers were long and graceful, peppered with peeking flora as if she were born from the forest itself. From her toes, vines and roots emerged, bringing life everywhere she went. Her gaze lingered too long upon the desolate creature beyond the trench and as he looked on closer, they shared the same look of sorrow. Confused, he trekked forward once more, advancing on unsteady feet. Kylo touched the reddened spikes jutting out of the mighty monster that reached out to the goddess of life and—he released a shaky breath. 

 _Gaea_. 

His eyes flicked to the deity and found she was looking back at him. He stumbled back but she surged forward, knocking the air out of his lungs and sending him wheezing. His back hit something soft, and warm. Oh, so warm. He turned gently, afraid to scare the apparition away, and met those same turbulent eyes. "Gaea," he whispered but the apparition's eyes melted into chocolate browns that made his heart thunder with affection. He blinked.

"Rey?"

"What are you doing?" She grumbled but worry creased her brow. He reached up to run a thumb across her cheekbones. Affection bubbled up in his heart, along with a ceaseless confusion. 

"The sword." He took notice of its absence around her torso. She shrugged.

"I left it in Druid Organa's office. I've come to get you. Poe said you disappeared." A pause. She glanced up to note his fear-stricken face, cheeks paler than usual. Rey pressed warm fingers against his jaw and stroked. Kylo closed his eyes. "Are you alright?" 

Oh, beautiful Rey. How had he ever been so lucky as to have found love with her? "I think so."

"Well, you have to continue thinking you're alright. You're meeting your mother and she doesn't seem all that happy."

Kylo decided not to utter a response to that, wondering, instead, how it seemed like Rey's brunette locks shone a beautiful auburn in the sunlight pouring in from the tall windows. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, was feeling actually kind of shitty with all of the shitty things going on in my life right now and this was my attempt at trying to alleviate all my personal stress. This chapter just kind of, formed. Haha. Hope you like all I did here. To all new and old readers, all your love for my fic makes me so happy and content. 
> 
> I sincerely hope you enjoy this new chapter! xx


	19. She

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fortunately, I am not dead (yey). So I come back to you with this new update (tada!) which will coincide with also an update of Mandokarla (like, in a few minutes or so). It's my second fic that's just this cool new project I'm doing. You should really check it out. The story is set in Coruscant and it's written in-universe. So, when you have time wink wink.
> 
> Also, I'm taking liberties in this chapter and not all of the stuff might be accurate but please know that I am still trying for y'all. Remember, I live for feedback so.. give me sustenance!!! xx

Unknown strength settled in her shoulders, coursing through her veins and pooling at her deltoids, racing beneath her skin, and making her eyes bright. 

Something happened. Something  _happened_  for her to even begin to feel like she could hear everything in the towering halls of the Council. She glanced toward the door. It was something important. A ripple nudged at her signature, pulling her out from her confusion. Expertly, and with years of practice she was admittedly ashamed of, she brought sturdy barriers down the passages that led away from the Council Court. Familiar pulses of energy moved into the bowels of the dark hallway, headed straight for her door. She knew only two of those energies, one she didn't recognize was standing bright and burning like hellfire. A shiver ran down her spine, settling like cold corrosive liquid down her bones. 

The door swung open quickly, though quietly, and the figure of Luke Skywalker came strolling in. He was followed closely by Poe Dameron. Ah. Her _Grigori_. How she'd missed him. A furrow in her brow, she ignored her brother's convivial greeting in favor of staring intently at the slight hollow of Poe's cheeks. His fingers were thinner than she remembered, and on his shoulders hung a dark plume of energy she'd felt for years—

"What the  _hell_  did my son do to you?" She asked, horrified, stepping around him and noting the differences in his person. His body had thinned out, too. His arms felt harsh and bony even through the thick robes of his uniform. Even the small tufts of hair above his nape sported silver colors. Poe shrugged noncommittally. 

"Just a little rough housing, that's all."

" _Rough housing?_ He might as well have sucked you dry. How could you let him do this to you?" Furious, Leia turned him harshly with a grip on his arm, studying the sunken darkness that framed his expressive eyes. 

"It was worth the trouble. I'll be better in no time."

"Worth the  _trouble_?" 

Like the answer to her question, Luke gestured for Rey to step forward. Her feet found themselves at the center of the room. She looked comically out of place, in the hazy glow of the room with torn up, soggy dress slacks, greasy hair, and flushed cheeks from the strain of trekking the landscape outside. But for whatever reason, her power rang like an enchanting siren song in the enclosed space.  _Worth the trouble,_  Poe's words echoed around her head.

"Rey." Leia uttered her name in fascination. For a split second, a gleam of something flashed in the younger woman's eyes. Something like.. recognition. But it was gone before she was able to analyze it in her hands. 

Leia stepped forward, eyeing the sword slung across her torso before taking her hand in hers. "I trust your trip back here had been pleasant?" 

Rey winced at that, her hand sagging a little. She answered the question instead. "Not all that much."

The smell of mushy, damp cloth filled the space around them. Leia glanced at the splotches of water on Rey's thighs, and at the darkened areas of Rey's pant legs. "Had a rough trek?"

Red bloomed in the younger woman's cheeks and she was suddenly interested at the extra cloth dragging around her rubber shoes. "Y-yes."

Deciding to spare her the embarrassment—whatever it was she might be embarrassed about—Leia gave her one last pat on the shoulder. "You all are safe here. Where's my son?" She was asking Luke but it was Rey swiveling her head towards the door. Worry surged in Rey's mind. It was so palpable that Leia felt it from where she stood.

"Rey, do you know where he is?" 

"I have to go get him." 

Luke took over and Leia allowed him, too, watching the scene unfold before her. He took the sword from her hands and set it aside a wingback chair. Leia eyed it consciously. It was a reminder. Their time was running out. With a final nod in her direction, Rey rounded the door and disappeared down the hallway. Leia kept her cloaked. A small smile, unbidden, really, caused her eyes to crinkle and Luke noted it with a chuckle. 

"I know what you're thinking." 

Leia shook her head, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at her brother. 

"You said it yourself. They are bonded through the prophecy. Do you want me to think otherwise?"

"Could you at least wait for your boy?"

"I've seen him from his diapers; I'm sure whatever it is that that girl felt for him will be reflected twice as much in him."

"Ah, well, you're not wrong." Luke shot back. 

Poe shifted on his feet between them, regretting being in the same room as them both when he felt Leia's eyes on him. "Now you."

"I may have.. scolded him a little about his less than pleasant familial relations." He confessed, rolling one shoulder. 

Leia shook her head. "That's not an excuse for him to drain you of your power."

"Still. And I mentioned—"

"—Vader. I know. I know my son." She put a hand against his cheek again, tracing the sunken shadow beneath his eye. "How are you doing?"

"A little better. Ever since I came here."

She turned to Luke now. "Did anyone notice you?"

"Ovo. I think. I felt him through the halls."

"Did he encounter the girl?"  _Or my son?_  She wanted to ask, but it didn't come out. 

Luke shook his head. "So far, everyone's unaware. The longer we stay here, the higher the risk someone would eventually recognize them."

"You don't think I know that? The Prime is in the Academy right now. Most of the members are out, some are in their offices."

Luke's squinting eyes were filled with warning and that ever-present mischief. "You're planning to hide them."

Leia sighed, irate. "Of course I am. I have to do the right thing."

At the corner of her eye, Poe shuffled closer to the door, standing sentinel with his hands clasped together at his front. 

"Where do you plan to bring them?"

"The one place I never would have thought I ever will."

Her head whipped towards the direction of the door; the strength within the girl.. it was the same. A match between two souls. Their imprints were in each other, their energies a burning flame in a dark room. It clicked now. This wellspring of power suddenly forged within her. Luke didn't look unperturbed when she glanced his way. The smile on his lips told her he'd known. Leia schooled her expression so as not to give anything away, and nodded at Poe to twist the doorknob just as Rey was about to.

A canyon-sized splinter forced its way into her heart, drilling like a pike, and chilling her bones. Emotions surged up along with memories—of wind-blown hair the color of sweet honey, and that tender, roguish smile. Torture, was what it was called, for her son to look so different from her husband but somehow feel the same. Her fingers clenched against her lap when Kylo finally looked up. He still had the eyes of a lost boy; the eyes of a child who never really knew what it meant to find belonging. But where his honey brown eyes were usually flecked with slits of green, now his irises were golden. Glinting and reflective on their own even in the low light. Somewhere in the backdrop, Poe excused himself to stand guard on the other side of door. Luke took residence on the wingback chair where the sword leant and Rey's hands drifted over to Kylo's. 

That made her blink, her eyes instantly falling to stare at the girl's fingers. Which she promptly slid out once more upon seeing she'd been noticed. Kylo pulled it back stubbornly, running a soothing thumb across her skin. 

"Ben." It was no more than a breath, a silent plea for him to recognize. There was no emotion on his face when she said the syllable. Only cold indifference. 

"Mother." He replied, stone-faced and standing like a pillar. The only movement in his body funneled only to his thumb gliding lazily against Rey's hand. "I trust this plan was not a ploy to turn us over to your cronies."

She tried her best to ignore the jab, calming her frazzled nerves. Her voice gave nothing away, though inside she was being shredded. "The Council may not realize it; but we need Rey."

"And isn't it such a pity they do not recognize this. What has the Council become, I wonder? Or had they always been this incompetent?"

" _Ben_." Luke warned, fingertips pressed together. 

"What, Uncle? You scold me for exposing the truth?"

"I know," Leia heaved, tiring of this constant push and shove that was her family. "I understand what you are trying to say. This is my attempt to amend the situation. So could you just sit down and listen to your mother for once?"

"It's a curious way to make amends."

" _Sit. Down."_

Only when Rey had finally managed to uproot Kylo from where he stood did she allow herself to release the tension in her shoulders. It was very interesting how this girl seemed to be able to move and command her son around even when she herself couldn't do it. They surrendered to each other's will, it seemed, as was the case for anyone having done the Great Rite. 

"You didn't exactly give me the best situation to work with. Rey's crimes are inexcusable to the Council. We all know that. And you," she stared intently into his son's eyes, never having been intimidated by his intensity. "Your transgressions are inexcusable, too, and far greater than hers. So neither of you are in a position to question my methods."

For a moment, Leia thought he'd shove back a retaliation her way. He was petty that way. Now he was a grown man, but he bit back with the ferocity of a seventeen-year-old. Leia tried to tamp down the urge to run her fingers through his hair, like she once did whenever her boy was frustrated of something. 

"We need to keep you away from the Council until we are be able to inform High Principal Maz of your presence."

Her son's fingers twitched, his jaw popped. He knew where this was going. "You are intending to hide us?"

"Wait," Rey interjected. "The  _High Principal_? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble? She was the one who declared my banishment. I doubt she'd be happy to see me."

Luke took the liberty of answering her question. "High Principal Maz is actually more amiable than the rest of the Council. Her support, though small, may be our only ticket."

"You can't possibly think she won't go straight to the Council the minute she finds out that I'm back in the Realm." But Leia was communicating everything in the next few seconds she was staring at her. Rey laughed bitterly, silently crazed. "You're actually considering this?"

"It is a risk we are going to have to take, I'm afraid." Luke responded to which Rey's frantic gaze shot in his direction.

"You too?"

"I've known Maz a long time. She is a friend to me." 

Kylo did not look convinced and Rey was still gaping. If she'd been younger, she would have thrown her hands up and stormed off. She grinned derisively in spite of herself.  _Just like Ben_ , she thought. "Will you just  _trust us_  when we say that we are not going to rat you two out? If we wanted that, we would have done it the moment you stepped through that door."

“We've prepared for everything you might encounter here in the meantime. But you should really get going if we're to execute this perfectly. Your refuge will be the Organa Manor. You are safe there. Poe will ensure you get there undetected. We need to stay here to eliminate suspicion." Announced Luke. The clench of Kylo's jaw was something Leia was intimately familiar with. It did not intimidate her. It meant she was getting through to him, meant that he knew what he was risking if he said no. Another jolt of something powerful lanced across her chest when Rey gripped Kylo's hand tightly. A simple act to placate him; to anyone, that would be the name of the action. Not to Leia. Shinning blue eyes met her from across the room, hinting on the thing she'd felt. 

"Fine." Kylo blurted grudgingly, groaning more than saying. 

She was going to have to talk to him later. 

Intimately.

 

* * *

 

 

As far as she was concerned, Kylo Ren did not stutter. Kylo Ren did not admit defeat. Kylo Ren certainly did not have clammy hands, moistened fingers, and shortness of breath during particularly trying times. Rey figured it was forgivable. He probably saw his father here everywhere; saw him at the porch where a single wooden swing nudged in the lazy breeze, saw him in the meadows growing across the path that lead to their front door. She saw the lake, too, glanced at it when he did and felt his heart clench. 

The manor was simple, more like a cottage, really, nestled in a spot within the bosky canopy, sitting quaint in the sun. Shingled roofs cut off directly above windows framed with deep oak. The walls were a distinct shade of lavender yellowed with age. Plants gathered around the sides fitted into pots and basking in the sun. Rusted metal twisted out from under what looked like a vehicle of some sort parked beside a stump Rey assumed was used for chopping firewood. An urge to tinker with it overcame her and she looked on to her companions for permission. Kylo nodded first, too distracted to warn her about tetanus or give her a stern glare. He looked at the house with a calm sort of fright, tensing invisibly to anyone without her knowledge of his person. Poe nodded with a smile, most of his flesh returning in his cheeks and paleness ebbing away. He had offered to take a hold of the sword when Leia led them to a liminal portal east of the Council building, located in one of the scattered fountains within the courtyard.

With a nod, she pushed off the winded path and plowed through grass and moist earth, ignoring the squelch in her slacks in favor of the scrap metal. To her great surprise, it was a 1967 Bonneville T120R Triumph model, one she recognized from her days working as a mechanic in the Mortal Realm. She looked over her shoulder to find Kylo still frozen in his spot, palms splayed at his sides. Poe stood only a little a ways, looking curiously at him. She turned her attention back to the motorcycle. 

Its engine was exposed, though not haphazardly so. It looked like it peeked out on purpose, like flesh drew back to boast of the mechanism underneath that made it tick. Rust had occupied a large part of once shiny metal, chapping the metal off in areas and covering the steel in a motley of acidic orange hues. Upon closer inspection, she found the twisting metal to be what looked like a gearchange pedal covered in an insane amount of dust and soil. She turned her attention to the collection of folded metal that was the cylinder block, which, she shouldn't have been too surprised, was in the same state of decay. Pushing up to her feet, she gazed at the wilting leather of the seat, touching it with delicate fingers. The gas tank was noticeably empty, clattering under a tap from Rey's nail, and probably dry from the inside out. It looked every bit as rundown as any vehicle there was, if not more. Her days working as a mechanic told her that much; and the Witch realms only had two types of weather in general. Sunny and rainy. The vehicle looked like it'd been sitting outside beside the stump for a very long time, its rusted parts and withering nuts and bolts proof of its losing battle with the elements. 

Somewhere beneath the abundant grass in the middle of its skeleton, a prop stand kept it upright and teetering only slightly. The steering wheel keeled over to one side, the wheel pushed a little too much to the right, like the bolt that fit it into place had long been lost to the soil. She went back to examine the oil tanks, too, but they were too covered in vegetation and rust and dust she decided against touching it. Her affinity with engines and vehicles and mechanical things won over her fear for tetanus or rust getting clothes. Years of working with grease and engine oil and clattered spare parts must have affected the way she thought or something, because before long, she was settling into the worn leather seat and making herself comfortable. It held, surprisingly, despite itself, bearing her weight quietly, shivering only once.

When she'd tried to kick it into gear by stomping on the right footrest pedal, the frame jumped a little, its movement cushioned gratingly by the telescopic gaiter. Rey winced. Perhaps she'd had enough fun. She alighted, flicking the leather seat over instead and inspecting the bottom for any metal that could have possibly escaped the decay. 

But she found a note there instead, yellowed and tattered at the edges, flimsy in the wind if she didn't hold it firmly enough. The hand was nothing she recognized, but the shakily penned name at the bottom made her eyes water. Wordlessly, she left the rusting piece of scrap metal and padded to the Organa-Solo manor, headed only in one direction. 

 

* * *

 

 

She found the sword leaning against another wingback chair inside the rustic-looking living room. The decorated sheath glinted weak hues of orange from the fireplace. Kylo Ren was standing in the middle of the space, rooted in his spot like he'd been in front of the property before. He was looking dead ahead to a massive framed painting hanging above the fireplace, set in fine bands of gold and silver. Rey moved quietly. Once she was close enough, the painted honey-brown eyes of a beautiful young boy made her halt in her step. 

He was as big-eared and pouty-lipped as she remembered. Little hints of the beauty marks on his pale skin had only started appearing. But where she expected a scowl or a look of scorn, or, say, icy contempt, she found a smile. 

A little funny, it seemed, since his teeth didn't quite match and the corners of his eyes crinkled too much when he smiled too broadly, but it was there. Plastered on the face she knew now but didn't know then. Rey carefully reached out to take his hand, soothing him instantly when he startled. She led him to a couch across the red velvet wing back chair and sat beside him in silence. His eyes lost focus on the picture and dropped to watch the licking flames in the hearth. 

"I had never assumed I'd ever been.. happy." He said after a while, rubbing lazy circles against Rey's hand. 

Rey offered a smile he didn't see. "It seems like it." She nodded to the picture but Kylo kept his eyes averted. 

"I don't remember a lot of things in this house." 

At that, she took the liberty of really scanning the space. The living room was small and quaint, sparsely decorated. A cauldron situated on the side of a creaky staircase was covered in canvas, the carpet looked like it hadn't been changed in years, a brown splotch of something near the wing back's legs was probably coffee. Jars of herbs and roots she didn't recognize occupied the ledge above the fireplace and an incense burner on a dusty tabletop pushed off to one side sat together with a cluster of papers and flimsies. Something about it all resonated with her, though, the simplicity of it. 

The wooden planks peeking out from the carpet were shiny and the stairs that led upstairs seemed completely obscured in the shadows. Overhead, a neat-looking chandelier glimmered dully in the fire, telling Rey that though the place seemed like a compact little ginger house, it was high and spacious. Her head stirred back in Kylo’s direction as he took her other hand in his. 

"You make this easier for me, somehow." He began quietly. If he spoke loud enough, would his demons cripple him with guilt? 

"My mother knows fair well why I have made myself scarce ever since the day I—" he stopped abruptly, and when he gulped in a breath, it quivered. 

"By then I was long gone, too relieved to leave a place that would condemn me like the Demon I am."

At a loss for words, she slid slender fingers against his cheek where a tear had wormed its way out without his knowledge. She brushed it away and when another followed, she brushed that away, too. Until he was sobbing, his massive shoulders still broad and thick even hunched before her. She took her hand from him and felt his panic rise, only to settle quietly when she tugged his elbow closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. The angle was awkward and it probably hurt his neck, but he held her tight like that, despite the small distance between them, and sobbed quietly in the crook of her neck. 

Her fingers made soothing runs across his scalp, indulging themselves in his downy locks. She planted kisses against his ears, that reddened at the contact and made her smile. She whispered beautiful things in his ear, things she knew he wanted—but would never admit—to hear. Soon, he was slumping ever forward, and Rey was too small and he was too heavy to fight it. Future Rey would have scolded her for it. It was another person's house after all. But she ignored Future Rey for now and slid her legs beneath what little part of Kylo's hips she could prop up and held him closer against her chest. 

She dreamed little increments of his childhood before they disappeared in stardust all around her mind and what looked like the constellations in the sky mirrored that of his beautiful visage. 

 

* * *

 

 

Leai found them like that, in her living room, mashed limbs and legs together on her couch. Her boy fit wonderfully against the long couch though his arm dropped lazily onto the carpeted floor. There were unbidden smiles all around for her today ever since his son came home with the Chosen One. She wondered if it really did count as a homecoming. He was just using this place to hide in and keep the Chosen One safe. She hobbled to the kitchen. Perhaps she should stop calling her the Chosen One. 

She set about making tea quietly, levitating pieces of dried leaves from her herb jars and disintegrating them firelessly to put them into little teabags. Next she made warm stew before heading back out to the living room. She set the two cups down silently, careful not to wake the lovely couple. As she set the two wooden bowls down, she didn't try to fight another impending smile, succumbed to it, even. For Leia, despite her competitive nature, knew the feeling of pride for someone else. Someone like her son. Or, someone like this Rey.

Rey stirred then, the scent of stew placing a grumble in her stomach. Leia grinned this time. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Uhm, yesterday?"

Kylo was immovable above her so after quite a lot of fruitless attempts, Leia shook her head. "It's okay. Keep him there. He doesn't look like a thousand years old sleeping." She winked. 

Rey visibly relaxed, disentangled one of her hands in his hair and made to reach for the proffered tea. 

"He's not going to be too happy about waking up in front of his mother while wrapped around you." Leia joked, laughing when Rey nearly choked on her tea. Poor girl. Rey tried to cough as quietly as she could, cheeks ablaze. 

"I'm sorry.. should I—"

"Stay. I insist. I can handle anything my boy throws my way." 

She shouldn't be too surprised when her words buckled. Thankfully, Rey remained silent. They sat across each other in silence; Leia looking on at the scene, and Rey drinking and looking at anything inside the room that wasn't Leia's gaze. After a while, the girl found her tongue again. Her eyes were a dead giveaway. 

"Something on your mind, dear?"

"I'm sorry." She blurted, pulling a chapped lower lip beneath her front teeth. "For saying the things that I said back at.. my apartment."

Ah, yes. "It's okay. I appreciate anyone strong enough to resist."

If Leia had been unsure as to why her son had taken a liking towards Rey, now she knew why. Rey visibly fidgeted, being the only one soaking up Leia attention. Leia tried placating her with an outstretched hand. Reluctantly, Rey reached towards it and Leia noted the rough slants of the young girl’s palms. It was as if she'd been toiling all her life. 

When they broke apart, Leia noticed the sword. "Do you know what this is for? Rey?"

She slid wrinkled fingers around the handle and brought it up on top of her knees, running her fingertips against the engraved ruins. In her periphery, she waited for Rey to respond. A head shake, unsurprisingly. 

"It was my father's." Upon its decorated border, she placed a forefinger against a protruding gem. It gave underneath the pressure of her finger, but did nothing else. Rey's eyes were curious globes of hazel, craning her neck forward at the sight.

"It's a beacon of sorts. Go on," she said, "press that gem."

So she did, after Leia lifted it towards her with much effort she tried not to show. Rey either didn't notice it or refused to comment on it as she took the hilt in her fingers and pressed a thumb against the crested blue gem. Like it had with Leia, it sunk within the steel but burst into a quick, lively sapphire glow. It lined the sheath elegantly on each side, pulsing with life it seemed, and stable though quivering with what Rey could only imagine looked like pent up excitement. The girl didn't see it, but Leia smiled a sad smile. One that spoke of memory. 

The power she felt within her was there as Rey gripped the heavy metal, stretching it in front of her to admire its beauty. The blue caught in her hazel eyes and made it shimmer a delighted dull green. Rey also spun the sword around in her hand, careful to keep it a safe distance away from Kylo’s head. Tossing it a good few inches in the air like it wasn't made from pure steel, like it weighed absolutely nothing at all. She would need to address that later, she thought, if she were to prevent any further misunderstandings.

"It tells you that you are ready." Leia said next, Rey still not quite done with her inspection. After a while, the light receded back to carved silver and steel, sinking deep below the zinc to appear only when Rey presses against the gem. They would respond only to her now.

"What do you mean 'ready'?"

"The sword identifies its rightful wielder; it is the sword of the Chosen One before you, my father."

"Before me.." she trailed off, setting the sword down on the table between them and sliding it as far away from Kylo who had began to channel movement in one of his arms. "You mean your father was.."

Leia gave a small nod but chose to remain quiet. What it meant for the family that he had once been that person, she didn't know. Part of her still blamed her father's destiny more than his fall to the Demon Realm; or his powers. If her father hadn't been entrusted with a prophecy so restrictive, maybe he could have even just lived normally. Well, as normal as it can get in the Witching realms. 

Something inside her wondered if Rey was like her father, too. 

"So when it appeared, did it mean.. my time is running up?"

An audible sigh left the Druid's lips. It was times like this that she hoped she had Luke's crinkly-eyed way of delivering people the bad news of their situation. She was a Council member; she wasn't trained in the power of persuasion to nurse anyone's displeasure. She figured she still had to do it anyway, if they wanted to move forward in this conversation. 

"Yes." It sounded stern even to her ears. Surprised, the girl only gave a terse nod in response, she decided to pursue this quasi-interrogation. Rey seemed ready for it. Leia waited for something to follow up about Rey's fast decreasing time but nothing came. No one wanted to talk about it, it seemed, so she changed gears boldly.

"Have you any idea of the Great Rite?" 

At that, Rey stiffened and colored at exactly the same time Leia nearly snorted. Remembering herself, Rey returned to another bout of awkwardly trying to look around the barren, dimly lit room. "Yes. Yes I have an idea of it." 

Somehow, she ended up thanking the gods her son was not awake for the time being. If he had been awake to hear her give “the talk" of sorts to Rey, Leia already knew what it would lead to. She'd changed more than enough hinges to know. 

Leia tried to figure out what to say next. She, like her late diplomatic second family, bluntly pushed on forward, unfazed at the new red that bloomed in the young girl's cheeks. "It is a sexual rite performed by the High Priestess with the High Priest to impart power upon the coven during hard times and is preceded by the traditional five-fold kiss."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"You," Leia nodded to the sleeping pile of bricks stretched on the sofa. "And my son have coupled, correct?"

Rey stiffened anew, brushing a stray lock of her frizzy nest of hair. 

"Correct?"

"Yes. We have, uh, coupled."

"Dameron details that you entered in the West, in the heart of the Whispering Willows, and have set up camp there to sleep. Correct?"

"Yes."

"In that thicket, there is a.. ceremonial circle for the Rite. It appears to look like a trench or a pond of some sort. Filled with water. But it hadn't been before."

Amusing didn't even begin to cover the way realization played out on Rey's face as the pieces started to fit. Leia almost wanted to smirk but held back, leaning back on the chair instead. A few more seconds and Rey's eyes were drifting thoughtfully around the room, and with a sort of renewed understanding. Like the information she had just been given was something she'd been waiting to hear.

"It's why I could lift the sword better now, isn't it?"

"Why you have that strength, yes."

"But I wasn't born with a coven."

Rising briskly, Leia disappeared to another room adjacent to the kitchen with a single-minded purpose. A small study came into view, and a book shelf overflowing with books. Some of the papers stuck out like tufts of grass beneath bare toes against the forest dirt. She approached a bed of separated pieces of paper against the dusty floor, scribbled with diagrams, sigils, and more ruins and languages her Council-grade education could enable her to understand. Sifting through the unimportant little charms on top of the mound, she dug deeper into the papers until what lied before her were gold-lined pieces of paper and other stamped with dried black wax. But she was not after these papers, she was after the small slice of a book sitting at the very bottom. On its cover were two entities, one male and female, carved into the rough surface. It almost seemed quite a folly to be depending on only two people for the safety and peace of all the realms. Now, though, they were linked not only by the prophecy. They were linked by soul, too, and by heart, it seemed, even without doing the Rite. Leia smiled privately. Her boy had done well. 

She placed the book in her hands and shut the door of the study behind her.

 

* * *

 

 

When Kylo came to his senses, it was being nestled (once again) in Rey's arms and in his home, too. A marriage of his past and his present weighing on his back with his future well underway.  _Well_ , his mind told him,  _at least you have her._ There was no doubt in his mind that she'd heard his thoughts as she carded slender fingers in his hair. She kissed him, too, and it made everything that happened before them seem like a distant, albeit, bad dream. Of course, until his mother came to view with a book he recognized but didn't admit having to. He was banned from seeing it, along with the rest of the household, but he knew what it contained nonetheless. He looked down at Rey and tried to lift one arm to grasp the edge of the couch and propped himself up to sit beside her. Rey straightened out her tarnished clothes as much as she could, settling beside him with a blush. His mood soured instantly, at being caught in a tender embrace with his lover, and by his mother no less. To which he made it known with a permanent scowl.

"You've gone and done it." Leia began without preamble, setting the book down before them. Rey took it in her hands curiously. "Haven't you, Ben?"

"We were unaware of it. It was an accident."

"Delightful accident it was, then." He almost wanted to call her out for her sarcasm. But didn't because he knew she wasn’t being sarcastic.

In the corner of his eye, Rey blinked disbelievingly at the pages and the notes. This one, helpfully, was printed in Basic as well as in Ruins. Both texts Rey could read with ease. She flipped once more to a depicted image of the Rite Leia had been talking about, looking curiously at the stylized art that it was printed in. Kylo waited for any sort of response, lashing out, seeking comfort in his arms, or just freezing in her spot, willing the words to appear like a deftly told lie. But she did none of those, instead, she returned the book where it had once laid on the table and gave a single terse nod.

"I understand." 

"You have married yourself into my coven. Upon Ben's return, the power of my position had thinned. Since I begot him, he is now the heir of my coven; the High Priest. And he has done his duty for you as a High Priestess, proven by the sanctity of the act within the circle and sounded true the very moment he performed for you the five-fold kiss with reverence. Luke and I felt this had been the case since you passed the threshold of my office. Now your strength has increased immensely, along with the other members in your coven."

"Where are they?" 

He watched his mother shake her head morosely, glancing at the fireplace. "Scattered. They could not believe I had preoccupied myself with dreams for the Chosen One, and so they decided it was better for us to part ways. Only Luke and Poe remain here, along with three young ones still learning within the Academy. Those of which I handpicked of course, once the order to take three new initiates under old covens was enacted. It was to allow the old covens to participate and to alleviate the stress of recognizing too juvenile covens being formed. These youngsters still need our guidance, no matter how old we may seem to them."

"Your coven continues to prove their weakness and distrust to their own Priestess." Kylo bit back. Rey swatted his upper arm angrily, shooting him a glare. Leia nodded to the jab, having accepted that this had been her fate. Perhaps if she had been a better parent in her ways, she wouldn't have lost anything. Kylo withdrew from this thought, unintentionally catching it with the way it had so been carelessly let afloat. Guilt. He knew what it tasted like. And his mother's tasted nothing like his.

"I cannot argue the truth of that." She said, gesturing carefully to the stew left cold on the table. "You have not eaten your soup."

 

* * *

 

 

Rey excused herself after the stew, leaving Kylo to dunk his spoon petulantly in the brown liquid and eat it in silence. In the kitchen, she found Leia once more, rinsing their tea mugs.

“I found something,” Rey declared, rather awkwardly. Leia turned to face her, rubbing both hands on a towel beside the sink.

“What is it, dear?”

“The bike.” She began nervously. Talking to the parent of your lover about your recent forest sexcapade doesn’t exactly make conversation easier.

Leia shook her head with a smile. “That was my husband’s, Han. I never got around to disposing of it.”

“Kylo regrets it.” She blurted, unsure as to why. It made Leia’s eyes glimmer with hope, caused her smile to falter and then, somehow become wider.

“I know.”

“Kylo still loves his father.” She added, thumbing the note in her hands. “And his father still loves him.”

Leia looked up curiously before Rey handed the small piece of paper over. It was old, wrinkled, covered in flecks of rust on every corner.

 

_He’ll be back, Leia. The kid’s stubborn but not immovable._

_Someone will move him, like you moved my heart. -Han_

 

“That idiot,” Leia gave a wet laugh. “That idiot is always right.”


	20. The Bitter Pill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since today is my nameday (whoo Game of Thrones reference!!) I give you this!! AN UPDATE!! A birthday treat, if you will. Hope y'all like it as much as I do! As well as the next chapter that will follow it in a few days. xx

Only when the sun had set and Kylo had allowed himself to be persuaded to eat dinner did Luke return. His gait was quiet but his jovial voice was unmistakable as he passed the threshold easily and found himself inside the living room of the manor. Kylo and Rey sat together, talking quietly amongst themselves. Power radiated from somewhere in the room and Luke wasn't sure where or whose it was from. He looked at the sword, at its hilt that was on the small table facing Rey's direction and its blade facing away. He also looked at Rey who appeared to be deep in thought and Kylo who was listening impassively as always. 

He coughed into his hand and both figures on the couch stared at him. "Comfy?" He said, only slightly amused by the deep dent of his nephew's scowl. 

Rey greeted him more kindly, lifting from the couch and nodding her head once. They had both been changed into more slightly decent clothes. Rey donned an old navy velvet robe over the yellowed, crispy cloth of what looked like a negligee. Kylo Ren was bare from the waist up but his long legs were wrapped in something Luke assumed Leia crafted the last minute. The seams were slightly awry. 

"Where is my sister?"

"She's in the kitchen." Rey nodded to the next room and took a seat once more, releasing a soft sigh. It was nothing like relief, that sigh, and Luke wasn't sure if he'd made the right decision with leaving it to Leia to explain to the two of them the Great Rite. He headed to the kitchen.

"Looks like I've made the right decision."

"Oh, please. The only reason nothing's broken in the living room is because it's sparsely decorated to begin with. And your nephew had been knocked out cold."

Luke's teeth peeked out in a half-grin. "By Rey?" 

"By sleep, brother. Had he been awake for the awkward parts, the living room would have looked like a battlefield upon your return." 

"How did Rey take it?" He shifted gears, pulling a stool over beside the sink to sit as Leia talked.

"Like we knew she would. With a sense of duty." 

"Perhaps she understands the gravity of it now." 

Leia shrugged, finishing up her dishes and leaning against the dry end of the sink. "Maybe. But it also seems like she had simply.. deflated. Resigned now to her fate and my son's. I'm not saying it's not good, Luke, but I don't want to make her feel like she has to do this just because she has a responsibility. Somewhere along the road, she needs to like what she's about to do. Even just a little." 

Luke sighed, looking down at the years carved into his fingertips. "It's not easy to be put in a situation that is out of your control, Leia. Rey is still in a state of disbelief, and with the added threat in her life, I'm surprised she hasn't broken yet."

He recalled days marked by his apprentice's recklessness; of afternoons that ended with a few bloody-faced initiates with broken noses and split lips. Of that child he took in to train and care for. He regretted nothing of this decision, even now, but knew that whatever his apprentice had faced in her life, it showed in the way she acted out. 

"She's not a threat to our lives, Luke, I can feel it."

"That's not what I'm saying, Leia. She could walk out that door and out of all her responsibilities and still I wouldn't stop her. Rey deserves that much. She deserves a choice. Especially when she hasn't had one ever since she was born."

"No." Leia replied firmly, shaking her head. "That's one thing she won't do. I can vouch for that."

Incredulous, Luke pushed up to his feet, striding to the corner of the kitchen and scrubbing the side of his face. "Tell me, then, how you came to know that?"

"Don't you see? I've felt it when I came back to find them here. There is a reason she is linked to my son."

When Luke responded with a thoughtful quiet, Leia soldiered on. "They are the yin and yang of the Realms. Like the deities that birthed Rey."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the Great Beginning. You can't have not been aware of this."

"In the beginning," Luke interrupted, growing exasperated. "There was Chaos who ruled the darkness of space with violence and strength, wielded power like one wielded a sword, from whose rib Gaea took shape and planted the seed of Life—it is a  _tale_ —"

" _History_. It's history, Luke. The words of this origin is printed to this very day. Taught at the Academy and asked to be recited. Don't you think there is a reason for that?" Luke felt he needed no response to that. Leia took it as an invitation to continue. 

"You may have left the title of the High Priest for my son to take, but you have an obligation to your coven  _now_."

"Haven't I paid my dues with this apprentice? Is that not enough?"

"No." She was shaking her head, and if it weren't for the grim set of her lips, Luke would have called her mad. "You know as much as I do that now, it is not enough. Even if she had performed the Great Rite. Even if she is here. The Prophecy is a guide for us to follow. My son and Rey are destined to fulfill this path with all of the coven members on their sides. If you decline, you are one less person in the cause, a grand loss."

He scuffed, threw his hands in the air in agony. "And what would you have me do? You said it so yourself. They are yin and yang. Come to balance the Realms. They can do this. I can be a guide in the sidelines, or a healer of scars."

Leia gave a loud sigh and occupied the stool Luke pulled from beneath the small wooden table. "When the Council discovers them here, they will have our heads. Poe Dameron would be sent for torture in the dungeons and the rest of the initiates will be reassigned. What do you suppose they'll do to our Yin and Yang once they get their hands on them? Do you think they'd listen even if Rey cried out or spoke of the prophecy that foretold her? Will the sight of the blue glimmer of hope on the late Chosen One's sword be enough to save her from Trial?

"The Council will not listen, brother, it is our job to keep them here. To provide them as much help as we could despite the limits on our shoulders—"

"Do you think they can do it, then?"

"Bring balance?"

At least Leia could understand the solemn nod he'd given in response. He was at least clear-headed enough to know that even in a verbal fight, she was his companion. "I do, yes."

"And why is that?"

"The past. The tale you called that had been Gaea and Chaos was only partially true. A large, very important part had been omitted. The part that spoke of their first born child; the first life Chaos had created, his gift to the love of his life."

"That does not answer my question."

"And the future converge. They meet now at the joining of Rey and Kylo Ren. And like her mother before her, Rey has fallen in love with a creature that resembled Chaos. Rey," the name quivered on her tongue, not because it felt frightening to speak it, but because of how her name carried more than just three letters. "She is the first born of Gaea and Chaos." She repeated. "The child they had omitted in the ancient scripts to protect should her destiny finally catch up with her."

"That's not true! Rey is born of the 7th!"

"You don't believe that, Luke. I can see it in your eyes."

At that he took a step back, feeling defeated on all sides, stripped down to a shriveling piece of the man he'd so carefully built covered with his cheerful demeanor. 

"You want to believe me, don't you?" Leia continued, and he allowed her to bask in her victory over him. She'd won again, like she always had, but now the stakes were higher and he'd been a fool for not having listened to her.

"Oh, please," she replied to his thoughts, standing to her feet now. "Spare me your self-flagellation." 

A loud clatter jarred them both from the simmer of their clashing thoughts and caused them both to flounder. Luke watched as Rey stood before them, red-faced and with cheeks streaming with tears. 

"Rey." Luke tried, but the girl did not respond. The sword presented a distraction for her and so she stared at it, her bottom lip quivering. 

"Rey." Luke tried again, hovering as close as he stared. Rey lifted a hand so quickly that he stumbled back only a little out of balance.

"I'm Gaea's daughter." She said. She shook where she stood, hands clenched so hard and body tensed to the point, it seemed, of breaking apart. She held tightly despite it all, it was with no small amount of pride that Luke looked on. "And the first life to ever be created under Chaos, when he could create none."

"Rey, listen to me—"

"For  _what_?" She might've come a long way from the rail-thin child Luke had pranced back to the academy with, but now the agony and sorrow he'd seen on her before came back tenfold. "So you all could tell me about my destiny and prove that I've got no say in it? That from the start, I'm just supposed to do this because it was prophesied?"

It was Leia who mustered the strength to answer. The crazed look on Rey told him it was not what she wanted to hear. "It is your duty."

A scoff escaped the younger girl's lips, and a look of bewilderment belied her pain. "All my life-" she paused, dragging a hand in her hair. "All my life I'd wanted my parents. All my life I'd wanted to be that kid again. I'd wanted somewhere to belong; to live my life the way _I_ wanted it to."

Luke knew this first; saw her younger that moment, begging to be whisked away to somewhere she could peacefully pick flowers and skip stones in the lake like her foster parents did with her. She never wanted glory or fame or practice to hone her abilities. She had just been a child who wanted to go home, and home to her was somewhere she could _be_.

"I never wanted these powers." She said, only above a whisper, and stared at her hands. "All I ever wanted was to live a normal life. What do I have to do to get that?"

He wasn't sure if it was wise to opt with silence. Even Leia's head hung down. There wasn't much to be said that wouldn't already compound Rey's agony over the situation. Kylo, who stood a little further behind, took a shaky step forward, just in time to catch Rey crash in his arms. Luke watched as she let go, nodded once to his nephew, and slip quietly out the door. For once, Kylo did not look at them with scorn or contempt. 

Together, they exchanged a look of slow sympathy before Kylo extracted himself first and followed the ghost of Rey's presence out the door. 

 

* * *

 

 

She was the daughter of Gaea in her congress with Chaos; she had control over all the Realms. This Kylo thought with a great amount of pride. His beautiful, beautiful Witch, the original heir of everything that was. First born of the very first deities of the Universe. She'd come a long way, that much was true, but he knew she'd never take this news with enthusiasm. How he'd wished he could have shuffled closer when she was breaking apart. The sword was there, though, so he could only stand a few feet away without getting himself seared into nothing. 

He stumbled all throughout the vegetation, swiping at octopus ferns, and skipping over small strips of water and scaling steep rocks and thick fallen trunks. He passed a gnarled, twisted thicket with bushes that brushed harshly against his linen pants and landed in a wide flat of nothing but tall grass for miles on each side. She stood at the middle of it all, the strands of her brown hair caught and danced in the wind. The thick navy blue coat pooled at her feet, leaving her only in his mother's old, but still delicate negligee, the curves of her skin silhouetted against the dark that crept out of the canopy on the other side. 

He fell back a step instead of moving forward, afraid to come any closer should she be just an apparition of his affection. But she moved, eventually, though it was to only look behind her shoulder with confused eyes. 

"Ben." If he still had hackles, they'd have risen already, but something about the way she uttered his name gave him pause. It was said with so much misery, whispered with so much desperation. Like she was somehow longing for solace in the memory of the lost child he had once been. 

He braved a step forward and wondered if he really was still that child. He stopped about a foot away from her, still an ample distance from her. She turned slowly, and the delicate brush of her fingers against his cheek made him fall on his knees. It wasn't weakness that made him bend the knee, no, it was terrifying  _strength_. He moaned. 

"We are strongest here, bathed in the moonlight." 

How she managed to keep standing and talking in coherent sentences was beyond him. All he could feel was an urge to either hold her tight or kiss the soles of her feet. "How- I don't—"

"You have sworn yourself to me before the Moon that overlooks us. Have given me the right to share the strength you possess as much as you could share mine." And when she pressed forward, cradling his head against her chest, he gripped around her waist and channeled his strength in her, too. 

She whispered something above him in a breathless whisper.  _Rosa mia torne,_ he heard only in passing before the wind halted its howl against his ears and halted all around his body. Slivers of silver from what looked like glass overhead cast lazy stripes of pale bluish light down Rey's shoulders. Though the slivers never quite reached past the curtain of brown hair framing her face, her hazel blue eyes reflected what little light he had in his golden gaze. They stood pressed together like that for a moment, encased in some kind of hidden glass fortress in the woods around his childhood home. Until she slipped away, opening up her arms and showing him abundant flora proliferating on all sides and corners of, what he now saw, a long, squat little greenhouse. 

Ferns stood pleasantly on one side, swaying only slightly when he'd moved sideways. Elevated behind it were roses of all colors—blood red, blue, white, purple, and pink. Some colors more exquisite. One was an onyx black, streaked with blue stripes on each petal.  _Blue Hyde_ , he recalled. Overhead, hung on strong bindweed, orchids latched on tree barks by their thick white roots flowed out and cascaded down the sides of its confines, mixed with more dewy-looking Ivies and touching the broad of his naked shoulders gently. On the other side were Hyacinths, Dandelions, Daisies, the yellow center of the fragrant German Chamomile, and below it, a bundle of wild-grown Tulips of different colors. He stood on unsteady feet, careful not to hit the fuzzy stems of the orchid plants. One had a boasting vibrant yellow bloom, with a splash of crimson in the middle.  _Cattleya_ , Rey whispered in his head.

"How did you manage to keep them alive?" He asked absently, eyes trained on the beautiful petals. The stems were beautifully propagated, the leathery leaves practically singing in their joy. 

Somewhere in front of him, Rey replied. "I had some help." 

Another plant of some sort caught his attention. It grew wonderfully, just like its neighbors in the greenhouse, with rounded petals spun around a pinhole-sized center. It was white lined with a blood-like hue of pink at the tips.  _Dianthus caryophyllus_ , introduced Rey.

Finally, he looked at her again. She was kneeling in front of the wild growing Azaleas and Tulips on the greenhouse floor, pruning away with garden shears. He didn't even see her get one. He listened absently to the snips she made, still marveling at the Orchids filling the ceiling of the greenhouse. 

After a while, it was Rey who spoke first. Kylo listened while taking careful steps to look at her Hyacinths carefully. "Did you know?"

"You could say that."

The snipping stopped. "And you didn't tell me?"

He turned around to see her frozen in her spot, looking at him like he'd betrayed her. He rolled his eyes. "Let me clarify. I know of it, of the story of Gaea and Chaos' secret first born. But I knew only now that it was you."

"How? How did you know?"

"It was the story I grew up to know; the story my mother loved telling every night before I fell asleep."

He watched as she stood up, setting the pruned Tulips and Azaleas on a tiny wooden stool shrouded under the lean of the neat row of Ferns on the ground and moving to trim the Chamomile beside the Azaleas. "Tell it to me." 

Momentarily, he was entranced in the slow glide of her fingers against white petals, and the hypnotic rhythm of her snipping. Rey caught him not long after, stopping. "Well?"

"In the beginning," Kylo started, reaching down to cradle a Tulip bloom in his hands. "There was Chaos, who ruled the great unknown Universe with violence. Though it had been fruitless since nothing was around to lay waste to, he grew tired and dormant, starving himself."

A loud snip made him drop the Tulip stalk where a quick flash of something green and plant-like caught it. The creature—he saw now since it floated quickly and furiously in front of his face, hugging the tulip stalk against its chest. He blinked, only just realizing. Rey enlightened him first. 

"That's Claris."

He stared dumbfounded as the leafy creature floated away, replacing the Tulip bloom on the stool and flitting fast in Rey's direction. It spoke in its native tongue, syllables he didn't know. But Rey responded easily, speaking amicably with Claris. _I had some help_ , Rey had said. It made so much more sense now. "You speak nymph?"

Claris, after greeting Rey, floated up lazily towards an Orchid plot overhead, disappearing amongst the leaves.

"I had to keep my plants alive somehow. So, Chaos starved?"

Taking the cue, he continued. "Yes." Before he could continue, a sharp pitched whistle rang out from above. Claris had made a call as more nymphs came to gather around her. And now there were five of them, conversing amongst themselves before they all flew towards Rey. He smiled. "In doing so, he slept days and years until it was said that from his full bony body, half his rib fell off and floated in the nothingness. It caught on the residue and stardust in the space, mending a body made out of the first specs of what would then become the Realms. Once awoken, Chaos' eyes fell instantly on the most beautiful being in all the Universe; she was called Gaea." 

At the mention of the name, one nymph lifted its bulbous head. Its face was human-like, the features etched like black ink on the rounded petal. It cheered joyously. "What's it saying?"

Rey scoffed. "Her name's Quilline. And she's just happy to have heard you speak the Lady's name." 

"The Lady?"

"It's what the nymphs call Gaea."

He looked back down at his palm as Quilline seated herself in the middle, watching and waiting for him to continue. 

 "It was said that Chaos had fallen that exact moment for the beauty and the power of Gaea to create Life; to possess the womb in which all Life was born." He ran a finger down a petal that resembled Quilline's skirt. The little nymph laughed.

 "He wanted to be with her. But it was forbidden. His love never wavered though Gaea didn't feel the same. Eventually, while Gaea was bathing in a shallow pond, Chaos appeared and begged to be given just a slight chance. They were so unlike the other. Upon each step of Gaea's feet, a flower bloomed. At the touch of her fingers, vines and trees proliferated, and where she breathed, a bubbling brook surged forth from the soil. While Chaos' presence twisted twigs, and dried plants and withered leaves and stalks to their roots. His gaze killed blooming flowers; his clawed hands chapped and sent the grounds into drought. Where Gaea breathed life, Chaos snuffed it out like a candle."

Kylo sat down on the floor eventually, ignoring the dig of dried twigs against his bottom and thighs. Fascinated with the new visitor, two more nymphs sat beside Quilline on his palm. He continued when their heads nodded and he was treated to its bell-like sound. 

"Naturally, Gaea declined Chaos' attraction. Before she could walk away, however, he promised that in his affection, he would not touch any life she made, but only produce his own Realms in silence. And thus, Gaea beget the Middleworld. The Human Realm and the Animal Realm. Chaos forged the Underworld. The Demon Realm and the Bottom Realm.

"Until such time, in her boredom, Gaea wandered within the four realms, undetected to any of its creatures, of course. Except to Chaos. They found themselves in the Rims that divided the realms. Chaos, urged by his honesty, confessed that with each passing day, he grows weary for not seeing her face. Gaea finds this beautiful; for a King placed at the throne of the Underworld to have such a love for Life itself, despite the fact he could not produce it. So she gave him permission to interact with her. There they met within the Rims, walking and talking, unbeknownst to their respective creations.

"During their clandestine meetings, however, things within the Realms started to change. Humans became vile and resentful, disrespectful to their Gods. And some Demons developed compassion for Mortals they were supposed to only perversely coexist with. These changes were brought along with Chaos and Gaea's growing closeness. This caused a shift within the fabric of the Realms. The Mortals who died of greed, and gluttony, or a lust for power, became the pinhole-mouthed, slender-necked, huge-bellied Hungry Ghosts. And the Demons who showed unusual amounts of compassion and love, things they weren't meant to have, ascended as Gods, themselves. Thus, the Six Realms were born."

"Six?" She queried when he paused. Quilline and her companions had leaned forward now, braced on their elbows and looking up at him. He cracked a smile for them and then turned to Rey. He offered his other hand for her to take, shook his other only a little to deposit the nymphs on top of the cut stems of the flowers on the stool. 

Claris, who was sitting on Rey's left shoulder, floated towards a small Chamomile bloom. Rey took his hand reluctantly and let him guide her into his lap. He lodged his face gently against the crook of her neck and breathed. Some of the nymphs released collective sighs of appreciation, giggling. Rey tried to pry his arms away but he laughed and pulled her tighter. 

A light smack landed on his shoulder before a deep rumble of a laugh emanated from his throat. Rey squirmed. "You like a show, don't you?"

Kylo shrugged unapologetically, catching her lips in his. She kissed back timidly, but didn't push him away. "Only so they know you're mine." 

Maybe it was the heady feeling of finally having her back in his arms or maybe it was the residual effects of the Great Rite, but damn it if Kylo didn't want her close. She squirmed a little more, snapped back embarrassedly when Quilline and the other two nymphs asked her some questions that made her face heat up. He watched her battle away her embarrassment patiently, enjoying the loud squeal of delight from their viewing party when he placed random kisses against the column of Rey's throat as she tried to speak.

"Stop it!" She begged, red-faced and angry. 

His only reply was a smirk and the continuation of the story. 

"The Six Realms were created and some of the Demons and the Bottom-dwellers did not like it. The Overworld Realms, they were called. So, the Demons and the Bottom-dwellers and the greedy Hungry Ghosts conspired to end the growing affinity between Chaos and Gaea. On a night that Chaos left for the Underworld and Gaea returned to the Middleworld with glee, the Bottom-dwellers possessed the animals in the forest to attack Gaea. But she fought them off easily, restoring life in the fallen animals and causing the souls of her assailants to flee or suffer her wrath.

"Chaos heard of this and was filled with rage on Gaea's behalf. When he came back to ask for Gaea's forgiveness, she was hard-hearted and hurt. To pacify her and promise her that no such attack would repeat on her or her Realms ever again, he channeled all of his power into planting the first seed of Life he could make. It found a home in her womb, and she recognized it for what it was. A beautiful, living, breathing being. One she could not believe will come from Chaos. He vowed that the being residing in her belly would be able to single-handedly bring the Realms peace in threats of war."

One nymph, smaller than all the four, peeked at the scene below. It floated elegantly down. Kylo caught sight of it from the corner of his eye, stretching a hand out for it to perch itself on. Rey turned around. "That's Rhenia." She said, as Rhenia smiled and flew to her instead, nuzzling her cheek. 

"Are they all female?" He asked as Rhenia's petals fluttered about when she moved. She joined Claris on the Chamomile bloom not long after, anticipating the continuation of the story, too. 

"Yes. All nymph types are female."

"And these are the garden variety?"

Rey nodded, tracing circles against his exposed nipple with her thumb. "Garden nymphs for a garden Witch. They help me keep my plants alive."

"I'm sure dried leaves are but minor roadblocks to the true heir of Gaea."

"And Chaos." She added matter-of-factly. Kylo brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. 

"Chaos knew the first Life he created will be the most powerful of all; knew that with this first Life, he could set things right with the Realms and with his lover." He stared at Rey as he said the words, willing her to understand that she was more than her complicated history.

"But Gaea knew there was nothing she could do for them to be together. Chaos knew this, too, but still lamented and hoped for Gaea's love all the days of his life. Thus, he offered her one last gift, an offering, that in every hundred years, he will channel all the small increments of Life in him to create something resembling the Mortal form, as it was Gaea's favorite beings despite their shortcomings. Since he had unusual abilities, he beget forms that _did_ resemble the Mortals but with peculiarities."

A smile sliced its way on her dainty lips. "The Witches."

"Yes." He couldn't help but grin back. "But the Mortals did not understand the purpose of the Witches, and so burned them on the stakes and stabbed their hearts, and ripped their cloaks. To prevent this, Chaos birthed a wise man to stop the growing animosity, a celebrated Wizard, and thus, the Treaty of Peace was born; the Witching Council created to keep it. For eons the Realms remained peaceful. Gaea heard of the Witches and what they had done for the safety of all the Realms. In her joy, she finally gifted the being—she destined the being to be a 'her'—in her belly to a wonderful Mortal family, so that she and Chaos could watch her grow from both sides, even though they were not with her. 

"She was the key to the balance within the Realms, so, for her safety, the Witches of Old omitted her from the ancient texts and histories. But now," Kylo pulled back a little, slotting his lips with her in a tender kiss. Rey responded gratefully, relaxing into his hold. Stars died and were created in the light of her eyes. To his ears that sounded untrue, for it was he who lived a life that made him know what the Universe was like. It was him who held higher powers above her. Until now, it seemed. 

"Now, she is in my arms, my beautiful moonlit night, my High Priestess, my solace."

Rey became so quiet he thought she might have dozed off. In their affection, the nymphs had hidden back within the leaves, only the occasional bell that accompanied their movements echoed inside the greenhouse. They sounded distant though he knew they were there, but the sound was a lilting rhythm that lulled them both to quiet. 

She stirred in his arms when she asked finally. "Do you want me to be the Chosen One?" 

"I want you to be what you want to be."

A pause. And then, "Can I think about it?" 

Kylo laughed and fell back on the twigs, hugging her tight and kissing the top of her head. "Anything for you,  _shrirrka_."

Rey vibrated on top of him, giggling. She looked up with a beautiful blush on her freckled cheeks that made Kylo want to smother her in more kisses. "You know nymph, too?"

"I only know the one word." He confessed, giving in and kissing the heated flesh under her left eye. "The only word that matters. 'Beloved.' Because it is what you are to me."

After that, they fell quiet once more. Kylo didn't mind that she opted not to say anything. The bell-like sound that followed every movement of the nymphs became the only rhythm in their silent night. Neither Claris nor Quilline nor little Rhenia popped out from a potted plant and Kylo was more than grateful. Rey sat up, suddenly, her small hands braced against his chest. She looked at him carefully, searching for something in his eyes, before talking. 

"When I was young, I would come out here and plant my flowers. I've been planting ever since Master Luke taught me how to tend to the incessant wailing of the Mandrake." She paused to point to wide, squat little pots with long, jagged leaves. By design, they were poisonous, but Witches were not susceptible to toxic plants. 

"I decided to create this fortress of sorts. A refuge, too, you could say."

Rey slid a little down his chest as he propped himself up on his elbows. "What do you mean refuge?"

Abruptly, though, after taking a significant amount of time contemplating on her answer, she stood up. He took her hand when she offered it and followed wordlessly as she guided him deeper into the blooms and floras decorating the space. Past the sparse Foxglove blooms and the wild Lavender fragrant against his nose—and found himself in what looked like a wooden apartment of sorts. It was long, too, like the greenhouse, furnished with a heap of patchwork quilt he assumed was for sleeping and a lone stool. 

She pushed him down the quilt, and when he fell back, dust ascended in the air. She fell down on her knees to pat some of the dust away with more force than usual. Kylo gripped her arms tight, pressing her against his chest in a crushing embrace. And so, the tears cascaded. He hadn't meant to push her into an emotional breakdown with the question, so he nudged on her mind to apologize. She shook her head against his sternum and blubbered a reply. 

"When the kids in the Academy found out Luke had already chosen an outcast to be his apprentice, I got bullied. The kids were upset because they all wanted Luke to be their mentor. But he picked me. So they would hurt me when Luke wasn't around and then I'd just run here if I didn't feel like I wanted to punch someone."

"Oh," she shivered as Kylo's blunt nails scraped long stripes against her scalp. "How I wanted to." 

There it was again; that anger of hers. The kind that turned her eyes crimson, the kind that made her ears ring. He ran his thumb against her cheeks, soothing wonderful circles on her cheekbones and kissing her dainty nose. It worked like a charm. With Rey pacified, he scooted back against the wooden wall and pulled her into his lap once more, watching the little lights show the fluttering nymphs gave outside as they moved. Their petal-like skirts moved lazily in time with the bells in every twist or bob of their bodies. Rey listened to it like a lullaby, Kylo's fingers buried somewhere in her brown locks.

"How did you manage to hide this place?" He asked, shifting gears. 

That seemed to have elevated a large chunk of her depressed mood, causing her voice to vibrate with a short bark of a laugh. 

"I stole a high-level invisibility charm that wasn't due to be taught in our final year. I had to customize it first, so that it hid my greenhouse for a longer time and that it can only be made visible with the sound of my voice. The first few weeks, the other kids found it and threw stones at the glass walls." She pointed to awkward jagged teeth in the windows. "So I stole more pages in the library and worked, until I finally got it. The cracks were never fixed, though. So you see some of my flowers growing past it."

He was treated to the sight of her in his mind. A young little mess of a girl slipping inside the Academic library on quick feet. She moved with all the elegance of a black panther prowling in the night and climbed with single-minded determination on the parts on the shelves obscured in the half-darkness of the beginnings of twilight. Even as she swung on to grab the ladders, her feet found purchase, her hand stopping the slide just before it hit the shelf sides with a crash. The next image was a hazy depiction of a rail-thin version of Rey sitting completely hidden in the shadows on top of the towering shelves, a book of some indefinite origin nestled between her legs. 

She read furiously, grinning at pages she liked—and tearing them away to shove in her boots. She tore more pages in her glee, descending the stairs as discreetly as possible and fishing out a book to open when the librarian turned the corner to find her at the very end. The librarian shook her head. " _Youngling_ ," she admonished, picking her up gently by the arm. " _This is no place for an Initiate to wander in after hours._ "

" _But I'm looking for a book, you see. Won't you please let me Wise Old Creeta? I promise I'll be good. I'll even return it—_ "

" _Oh, dear child. How could I refuse such fervent devotion to knowledge?_ " The woman laughed but said nothing more, giving the girl only a slow, meaningful look. She turned and disappeared into the darkness—and Rey's hazel eyes met him at the end of the tunnel. 

"Things like that," she giggled, "need to be hidden for reasons. And their perpetrators, too. So I made this place. Somewhere I could run to without fear of being who I truly was." 

He jerked his head to the side just as the bell-like sounds skimmed a little closer. "And the nymphs?"

"Were much harder!" She flailed her arms, chuckling with him. "I had to visit their part of the Wood with little gifts and things. They particularly like sweet things. Because it resembled nectar. So I brought them cakes stolen from the Academy kitchen on special occasions and sweet powdered bread or, if I was feeling particularly adventurous, I'd even get honey from the humming honeybees.  _Felssa Claris, mia fria._ " 

The last part had to be some sort of command because before long, Claris was detaching herself from a long stalk of Tulip on the other side, pulsing her petal wings about and landing in the palm of Rey's hand. She smiled before setting her on top of Kylo's left shoulder. Thankfully, the nymph stayed put, listening to Rey with a smile that made him smile, too. 

"Claris was the first to warm up to me. Followed by Rhenia, Gili, Quilline, and Drastia. I have only five nymphs. They were the only ones who wanted to help me tend to my plants while I was away. Quilline taught me the nymphen tongue and they became my only true friends.  _Rhenia, cré wvorzia, Gili, Quilline, Drastia. Mién fria._ "

The command made them all flock forward, Rhenia finding exquisite joy in swimming in Kylo's raven locks. Rey giggled as she pressed herself forward, tracing a finger at a jutting collarbone. Drastia, he now knew, sat on Rey's exposed thigh, conversing with her. 

Finally, finally, he took a moment to take stock of everything inside this little greenhouse Rey called home away from home. He took note of the flora, both the dewy and the leathery leaves. The rich green stalks, the vibrant petals, the fertile soil, and the little nymphs all about that should really annoy him but didn't. 

Everything was  _alive_. 

As sleep descended upon them, he wondered when the last time was that he felt this content. When he came up empty, he smiled anyway.  _Tonight_  he was content. Like he never thought he would be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a lot of thinking for me to stitch these details together and even then, I still think it's not all that polished. I hope you enjoyed my little Greek inspired exhibition here. Already I'm taking risks with this chapter and, well, hopefully you guys like it and I find my peace with the fact that you found this chapter was alright, or, I daresay, even a little more than alright. Anyways, here's a birthday gift from me to you that I hope you'll all enjoy! xx


	21. The Coven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The things about you I appreciate  
>  May seem indelicate:  
>  I’d like to find you in the shower  
>  And chase the soap for half an hour  
>  I’d like to have you in my power  
>  And see your eyes dilate.  
>  I’d like to have your back to scour  
>  And other parts to lubricate.” -- Valentine, John Fuller

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 24835687465 years, I have now returned. *hallelujah chorus* Whew. Everything had just been so hectic and so hard to balance. I had to finish thesis, had to apply for two internships and somehow manage all of those things just in time for Graduation (which is blessedly not too far off, yey!). So now, I have ample time to update once more. Once again, thank you for all of the comments, kudos and general feedback for My Boy Builds Coffins! Never have I thought it'd catch this much attention.
> 
> This chapter is best read with BANK's "Mother Earth" playing in the background. Trust me. ;)

"Have I done something wrong?"

 

Rey nearly jumped out of her skin. Kylo blinked at her with something she could only describe as groggy nervousness. His hair was askew from Rhenia digging into it, and the waistband of his linen pants hung dangerously low from when she'd pressed herself against him earlier, seated on his lap. 

 

She shook her head at that thought. Peeking into his consciousness told her he thought that her late night awakening was somehow his doing. She gave him a reassuring smile. At least she hoped it looked like it was. "I'm just thinking."

 

He clearly did not buy it, she shouldn't have been too surprised. But instead of commenting on it, he reached a long arm to tug at the back of her negligee where the cloth ballooned. 

 

"Tell me all about it." His velvety voice begged and it did things to her insides. With the nymphs gone, Rey didn't bother hesitate when he pulled her on his lap again, resting easy as his chest pressed against hers and his lips made contact with her temple. 

 

"About what?"

 

"What you're thinking."

 

She shivered as his hands moved absently up and down her back, unconsciously pulling him closer. If there was something she loved doing to Demon-slash-Lover-slash-Mother Hen Kylo Ren, it was stroking his dark mane with a tenderness that made him slump forward for more. The power came surging back in her veins and she knew he felt it, too. 

 

Her response was quiet. "My parents."

 

"Your destiny, you mean." He corrected, finding that spot at the crook of her neck that made her muscles go lax. He kept her upright with his strong arms, kissing her left ear next and murmuring his affection. 

 

"Yes," she replied with a sigh, trailing her hands down his abdomen, enjoying the goosebumps they shared. "That too."

 

"What have you thought about it?"

 

The night brought with it some things that no one acknowledged in the light. In this particular night, she allowed herself to think of Gaea, Mother of all that was Living, and Chaos, Maker of all that was vile. She placed herself in the middle, because now that was her place; a thinly girl from an abusive house from some godforsaken place suddenly made to bear the weight of all that was. But she thought of something else, too. She thought—as her eyes traveled along the length of Kylo Ren's slightly stubbled jaw—of how life would be to her if she gripped tight on her destiny and delivered instead of ran. She thought of standing where the Realms gave her access, rallying creatures to her cause and fulfilling the peace both her parents hoped for. A small smile, something she didn't notice, formed at the corners of her mouth. Twitched it, really, which Kylo took notice of, thumbing one side and asking her about it. 

 

"There is something of the Mother inside me." She said. Kylo nodded quietly, listening earnest but unsure about how else to respond. "So perhaps I could be what She wanted me to be."

 

Finding that this was a path he recognized, he offered insight, his voice a low tremor as he spoke into the curve of her neck once more. "And what He did."

 

"I still don't want to be the Chosen One." 

 

He hummed thoughtfully at that, rubbing lazy circles against what little skin on her right thigh was exposed. "I don't understand."

 

She took his face in her hands, throwing him off with _her_ intensity for once, and pressed into his waiting mind. His signature looked and felt like it had before, she marveled, as she dove further down. His eyes fluttered closed when she slid inside the corridors of his consciousness, and found that he was still as strongly devoted to her as she was to him. Good. She needed that. His fervent devotion for this to work. For everything to work. 

 

"There is a reason," she panted, not even realizing it. "That we have been bonded."

 

The hold she had of his mind never wavered and he let her kiss him with the gentle ease of someone who knew exactly how he liked it. She stroked him from his hair down to his shoulder blades, pushing deeper into his mind that the grip of his arms around her waist nearly made her shiver. His mind was open, warm, like he was, and she surrendered. He swiped his tongue against her bottom lip, jerking his hips with a gasp when she pressed down. 

 

"Life," she gasped for air, sweet precious air, as she rode him through the fabric of his linen trousers. "And Death. And the Realms." She mumbled, looking heatedly into his eyes. Kylo Ren, ferocious Demon that he was, begged with his eyes always, and only to her. He helped her hips by pushing and pulling her, latching his pillowed lips against her neck and mustering up enough to concentrate on sliding his overheated fingers beneath her dress. It was taking all of his concentration to keep himself sane as he pulled up the fabric that would finally leave her naked to him. 

 

Lust. 

 

Overwhelming lust. So overwhelmingly heady now that all their defenses were down. 

 

The rustle that came with Kylo Ren's dexterous fingers brought her back to reality. 

 

"Tell me—" He panted, hands coming up to cup the delicious globes of her beautiful ass. "—why."

 

There was a plethora of things she wanted to say—happy realizations, unsaid gratitude, love, oh, love. Love for those beautiful golden eyes. Love for those fingers making their languid journey across the planes of her body, kneading her left breast and her right ass cheek at the same time. Love for the marvelous velvety, veiny marvel beneath her. Love for his voice, his undying affection, his insistent pleas for her to see. Love. Love. Intoxicating. "You and I—" she saw now, while his lips came to worship her pert nipples. Saw how it all fit into place; Gaea and Chaos. The past and the future. 

 

He set her down gently, making torturous laps with his tongue around her dusted nipples, fingers dancing to pry her shivering legs apart. His mind was a whirlpool of pleasure, its weight thick and heavy against her bones like waves; his mouth a wet pressure on her breasts as he hollowed his cheeks out to suck at her reverently. Feather light touches to her puckered lips made her cry out the first of the many sounds she'd make tonight. His fingers working quietly in tandem with his mouth. He licked a wet stripe up to her sternum, palming at her breast with one free hand before pushing in his middle finger inside her warm wetness. She bucked up with a whimper, her fingers finding the tumbling locks of his raven hair. 

 

"We–" she continued breathlessly, moaning aloud as Kylo pushed aside the hood that obscured the button that had her writhing. Another round of wetness coated her walls, lubricating his fingers just enough for him to brave another finger inside her. Pressure was applied to her clit at the same time, shooting electricity to every vein, every nerve, and making her go bleary-eyed. Her hips gave an erratic jerk that made him choke and made his erection twitch. She saw it all, now, played out like an animated painting. 

 

"We," she tried again, shamelessly bucking onto his hands and shakily taking his face in hers. His eyes were shinning, sparkling with something she knew he saw in hers, too. She smiled, moaned, licked at his parted pink lips and rocked against the thrusts of his thick fingers and keened. A slight trickle of her wetness trickled down her perineum deliciously as Kylo thumbed its path down and rubbed at her puckered anus.

 

"We are Immortal." She willed him to keep looking in her eyes, dragged him down back with her by his face and forced his fingers out of her entrance with a wet squelch. "We are Life and Death." 

 

Kylo watched frozen as Rey slipped his fingers inside her mouth and suckled, groaning deep at the back of his throat. "You mean—"

 

She pulled him close.

 

Only to flip their positions, humping him with a force that had his eyes rolling at the back of his head. First, he scrambled for purchase on her hips, with a thousand little dots dancing behind his eyes. Next he was clawing her off, desperate to have her around him. She made the decision for him and nearly tore off the fabric of his pants but focused instead on the sensations his thick member elicited within her skin as she rode him with his cock pressed between her wet folds. 

 

"You and I," she giggled, and it was pure joy, she realized, pressing Kylo's hands on top of his head and keeping it there with one arm. She took his cock in the other, nudging it against her puckered entrance and whimpering as his head breached inside. Something within the bond flared along with it, a magnificent spasm of something warm and wonderful. A shot of liquid poured down her spine and deposited finally at her groin. It lingered there, moved around like a living serpent; she thought she might orgasm with just his head because oh, it was so wonderful. But she took him in, welcomed his hands when he helped her through the stretch, kissing her hungrily as she sank down. The sting was there, small fireworks going off where her walls rubbed against the sides of his cock, and then receded into nothingness. 

 

They stayed like that for a moment, at an impasse, enjoying the feel of one another. Her breaths were short and so were his. She looked at his face and smiled; looked at the bob of his Adam's apple as he tried to stay still. She saw the boy there, too, saw it in the turbulent storm that was his eyes—and started rocking. 

 

"I am Life." She mumbled, leaning her head back. With the close of her eyes, her jaw pulled slack, sweat trickling mesmerizingly between her peaks. Kylo let her set the pace, weakly breathing out her name in a prayer. Her head fell back down, her hair a wet mess against her nape, a curtain of sweaty tips dangling around her face. She nudged at the bond with a fervent declaration of her affection. The bond, her body, her lips traveling all over his face, it was so beautiful. 

 

"You are Life." He replied, like it was a prayer, too. Like she was asking him to worship her even more than he already was. His pace took over not long after, his skin slapping wetly against her backside. She clutched at his shoulders and pushed back, meeting his thrusts. He hit the bump inside her over and over again, panting  _Rey, Rey, Rey,_ in a desperate attempt to stave off his release. But she was already losing that fight. 

 

"You are Death." She cried out, riding him furiously now, throwing her head back and putting both his hands on her jiggling breasts.

 

"Death," he repeated, sitting up suddenly and taking her mouth. 

 

"We are them." She announced as he drilled up and pounded her from below. She pulled their foreheads together, panting and moaning against each other, drowning together in a deep canyon of pleasure. He fucked her hard and fast now, his pace becoming erratic along with the constant sizzle of lust and love in his mind for her. He pushed her down, pounding away in earnest and bringing one of her slender legs up to his chest to deepen his angle. Her back arched as he slammed inside her, unrelenting. His lips found one dusted nipple and tugged at it with his teeth. Her orgasm was fast approaching.

 

"Chaos—" she gasped, touching his face with trembling fingers. "Oh, that's it, my love." She moaned as his thrusts hit that sweet, sweet mound inside her. Tight and wet and hot, he kissed her lips again. 

 

"Gaea." He breathed against her lips, losing all rhythm completely, reduced to incoherent sounds and hungry groans. Together, they found that edge—and fell together in the abyss. He stilled as his spend shot inside her so deep and hers coated his cock, painting him hers from now and till the end of all known time. Steadily, he rocked even after the orgasm, languid now, less frantic, before finally pulling out. 

 

He kept himself upright though his shoulders trembled. "My Gaea. My beautiful Life."

 

She smiled. "Perhaps I'm not the Chosen One." She said in broken gasps, tugging Kylo down and letting him collapse against her chest. "But I am Rey; daughter of Gaea and spawn of Chaos. And you are mine." 

 

"Yours," Kylo sighed, grazing his swollen lips against her sternum. "And yours alone." 

 

* * *

 

 

She stood out amongst the flora that formed her sanctuary, naked except for the cascade of brown hair tumbling only to the tops of her shoulders. It was greased out now, after three days of nothing but travel and truths she did not understand. He approached her with carefully placed steps, ducking under lush greenery and obscuring the sharp angle of his face behind her blooms. After a while, she laughed, looking up easily and locking eyes with him. 

 

"You are no master of stealth." 

 

"I could try." He grinned, stepping out and sweeping her into his arms. His thighs clenched when he continued to spin her, planting gentle kisses on her exposed neck and shoulders. Unfazed by the sudden appearance of the nymphs, Kylo brought her legs back around his hips, charming his way into another kiss. 

 

She giggled as he walked her back to the little wooden seclusion and pressed her against the wall, running one hand through his thickened locks, and another traveling fast south and grasping something velvety. The brush of his furrowed brows against her sternum and the rumble of his groan made her fingers tighten in his hair—and feel a blunt jut of something small and sturdy. Kylo stopped abruptly against his intimacy with her chest to lift one hand to his hair while easily keeping her in his grip. 

 

Tentatively, she pressed her fingers back to the solid protrusions from his crown, tracing the cylindrical ridges running around it. 

 

"Are these.." she sounded excited. He looked far from it, letting her slip from his hold and falling on his hands and knees on the leaf-strewn floor. 

 

"Kylo," she tried to pull him up at least, keep him upright, but he remained there, staring unseeing into the slits between the grass, past the green and into the moist earth.

 

"No." He said finally, reaching a shaky hand back to his scalp. He felt for them again, this new addition to his person that only spelt their impending run-in with trouble. "No, no, no." He whispered, huddling in on himself, panting and racked with cold-sweat. 

 

This did not bode well to either of them, more so to Rey. The Realm. He whipped his head up and saw she was looking at him with concern. She dropped to her knees beside him, too, taking his face in her delicate fingers. He hoped the desperate plea in his eyes brought to her mind the right message—it did, undoubtedly, so she raced for their clothes and asked him to don them quickly. 

 

There was no time to argue with his parents or with his uncle or with High Principal Maz as it were. Time had so far been lenient to them, as much as it could ever be, now it was receding back fast, and they needed to tread quickly if they hoped to catch it.

  

* * *

 

 

Diminutive in stature but not in mind; Maz Kanata carried a wisdom that rivaled any other all throughout this and the other Realms. She had proven this so with every conversation she found herself in, imparted her much needed advice with grace and in an unhurried manner. Perhaps it was why she didn't cry out of anger, or rage, or wail and become convinced she'd been tricked when Kylo Ren bounded up the creaking steps up to the quaint manor's porch where Maz stood. If he hadn't been a massive six foot something of solid muscle and unmitigated angst, Maz would have taken him for a dog with his tail between his legs.

 

The form behind him, however, in a negligee in daylight, was at least a face she recognized. The girl stopped short, however, fingers clenching and unclenching nervously. Maz stood watch as the two exchanged furtive glances to each other. Glances they tried to hide, but failed anyway. She doubted that anything would get past her, even if they had been more effective secret keepers. But then again, young Ben had always been an open book. 

 

Especially when he was flustered. 

 

"I trust you know why I stand here before you." She interrupted none too gently, offering a hand out for a quivering little Rey. Ah, yes, she was every bit the child she recalled making trips on numerous occasions to her office. Now, the girl smelt like she had rolled around in grass and dirt with his gigantic contemporary. Realizing the truth was probably not far off her mark, she ignored it, ushered Rey inside with haste and crooked a finger for Kylo Ren to follow.

 

"Please don't turn me in! I won't do it! I won't kill again! I won't steal from the library! I won't trick Wise Old Creeta and I will finish the Book of Shadows—" 

 

"You haven't _finished_ the Book of Shadows?"

 

She threw him a glare so filled with vitriol that his grimace deepened, etching hard lines on his forehead. 

 

"I got bored," she griped.

 

"You can't  _get_  bored. It's the Book of Shadows."

 

"I was  _thirteen_ —"

 

"Enough." Maz warned, not needing to stand between them to pry them apart. The solid ring of her voice was enough to jolt them away from each other's personal space, in which they had unwittingly gravitated towards. Like magnets. 

 

 _Opposites_. She thought. So it was true what they said about history.

 

"I am not here to turn you in, child, though I have every reason to do that. More pressing matters require you out and about and not at the bottom of a stronghold, rotting away in a dungeon. I know why you're here today." She leveled them both with a serious gaze, forcing them to shuffle to the living room and sit side by side stiffly like reprimanded youngsters. She followed them quietly, standing diagonally from them. 

 

"You are here because the sword has called you here," she pointed to Rey. 

 

"And you are here because  _she_  is here and because the sprout of your horns mean the same thing for you as it does for her." She concluded for Kylo. "And it doesn't mean  _good_."

 

"Time is running out," this was said in a more calm manner, and it came from bloodshot Leia Organa standing at the landing of the stairs, covered in a dressing gown. 

 

"Gather what remains of your coven, make sure they swear not to speak of this encounter once they arrive. No one is to know they are here—"

 

"Why expose us to my mother's barely functioning coven, then? Isn't that as good as turning us in?" 

 

"Careful, Benjamin." Maz returned dangerously, though her voice betrayed nothing. The name stung him, she saw, and in his heart a wound opened the size of a chasm. "If you are going to find a way to get out of this safe with your woman here, you are going to have to know how to shut up and listen when I tell you to."

 

He fidgeted on his bare feet, looking defeated but with stone-cold determination still oozing out of him with the firm clench of his jaw. Beside him, Rey tried to make herself as scarce as she possibly could in a room full of people filled with expectations for her. 

 

"I can't exactly rally the whole Academy to your cause." She added seriously, just before Leia emerged from the kitchen with some bread, cheese, and tea. 

 

"But I get the impression it's what my Uncle wants you to do."

 

"Yes," she sighed, gripping a mug of tea between her small, blunt fingertips. "Still perceptive as ever, young Ben."

 

"I'm not  _young_  anymore. And my name is  _Kylo Ren._ "

 

This time, it was Leia's turn to stare him down where he sat. "And yet you still act with blatant petulance."

 

"I don't—" and so suddenly, he was gaping like a fish out of water, worn thin with an embarrassment that, though admirably reigned in, shone through the cracks and flecks in his golden irises. To her and to his mother, no less, he was still that child. Rey's hand on his shoulder told her she knew exactly who Kylo was. Or, who he had once been. 

 

"Our best bet, Mr.  _Ren_ , is your mother's coven. Those who swore an oath to remain loyal to her."

 

"And to the  _Council_." He bit back, an adamant roadblock in their path. 

 

" _Coven before Council_ , Ben Solo. Have you forgotten? Or have you always been this incompetent?"

 

"I am  _enlightened_ —"

 

"And  _you_  are going to  _shut up_." Slowly, Maz caught herself standing. She barely remembered doing so. "I'm already staking my career on even coming here and not dragging both of you back to be tried so I suggest you keep your mouth shut or I'll do it  _for_  you. And you won't be having it open unless _I_ decide you do. Do you understand?"

 

"I won't—"

 

" _Do. You. Understand?_ "

 

He gave her one last defiant glare, his golden eyes a thick mess of tension and barely kept anger. He might be a master of keeping his emotions from viscerally causing a flinch or a twitch in his fingers, but his eyes had always given him away.

 

With a heavy sigh, Maz turned to Leia. "You should have reminded me how hard it was to make your son listen to a word we say."

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Three sets of faces peeked from the other side of the door, looking over Leia who was standing at the threshold. One had a distinctly sour face, lips pulled taut and thin, hair a wild mop of brown. That one groaned and mumbled easily, but listened no less, chiming in appropriately and speaking so politely Rey was fascinated with his irony. The other one was a woman, slim and looking much too tall, authoritative but calm, listening to Leia determinedly. The last one had a shock of red hair, barely came up to Leia's shoulder and assuming the role of a pasty, red-headed statue, complete with a sever dusting of freckles on her face and grim, icy-blue eyes.

 

 _Oddballs_ , Kylo had snorted beside her so quietly when they entered but Rey was ignoring his arrogance. Leia came back in eventually, with the three in tow, and proceeded with their introductions. 

 

"This is Felis Martem." The tall woman inclined her head forward, some strands of her golden blonde hair shaking loose. 

 

Stepping forward upon Leia's instruction, the brown-haired man grumbled, "Cameron Svelts."

 

"And I'm Ava. Ava Wilson." Said the red-head, scaling the room quickly on stomping feet to offer her pale hand forward. 

 

Rey stood blinking down at her—Ava—before throwing Leia a look of confusion. The older woman's response was a smile before Ava apparently grew impatient. 

 

"Well, go on. Shake it. I've read somewhere that Humans greet each other this way. Which is a little stupid, if you ask me. Totally unnecessary, really." She droned on even after Rey's hand slipped out of her hold. 

 

"Ava," Felis called from her spot beside Cameron, but Ava promptly ignored her. 

 

"Sorry, Felis. I don't take orders from you." She turned to Leia. "Druid Leia, I still don't understand why you've brought us before a flimsy imitation of a Human and her pet Demon."

 

" _Ava_!" Felis admonished, jerking her head harshly to the spot beside her. Kylo, after the jab, had lurched up on both feet, baring his mismatched teeth down at Ava. Rey took his hand in hers in an attempt to calm him, ushering him backwards to the couch with a palm against his chest. He stared at her incredulously, as if asking why she'd not retaliated to the jab her way. 

 

"So uncivilized, this lot." Ava snapped, undeterred, and glared hard at Kylo. Unbidden, a smile grew on Rey's lips. The young girl didn't pull her punches, and somehow, she could appreciate that. She found it endearing. Kylo scowled in her head when she thought it, whining about his wounded ego. 

 

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Rey, and this man here—"

 

"Demon." Ava corrected. 

 

"Yes," Rey answered, feeling Kylo's chest push hard against the palm of her hand, trying to get to Ava. She pushed him back hard, and his teeth snapped together. "This Demon—is Kylo Ren."

 

At that moment, Cameron's green eyes shone her way, filled with curiosity. "Rey..?"

 

Rey didn't have an answer to that, even though she'd known the faces of her (foster?) family. She'd been much too young, smaller mind, unable to comprehend that her parents once were and now were not. So she forgot her name, called herself the only thing she had. Three letters masquerading as an identity. Kylo supplied it with ease, beside her, like he was humming out the first notes to a song he'd heard before. 

 

"Kenobi." He announced in the room while Leia stared, who had only learned it now. 

 

To the three others in the room, it was no consequence that she forgot her name and Kylo remembered for her. 

 

Leia, off to the side, looked thoughtful. "Ben Kenobi's been hiding ever since Luke entered the academy. I didn't know he had a daughter." 

 

She was not, of course, his daughter. Not by blood. But he flashed in her mind like a dusty black and white ensemble. She'd never looked anything like them, him, but she hadn't looked at what didn't matter. 

 

Ava recovered swiftly, shaking one of Rey's arms simply because she was audacious enough. Rey smiled again, wondering how it was that this little woman had everything she didn't her age. "If you're going to stand there and stare out like you're trying to remember something, we'll get nothing finished."

 

Stomping beside her, Kylo tried to push his way past her hand again, but she pulled his hair tight quickly, sending him cross legged on the floor and yelping. "Sit." She ordered and he bared his teeth at Ava still. 

 

"Rey Kenobi." She reintroduced herself slowly. "Kenobi." Like trying on new shoes, she repeated. 

 

"We need to keep her alive." Leia finally, mercifully said, airing out a serious tone inside the room. Cameron found his place quietly on the floor, too, hunched and small but with big, expressive green eyes. Felis remained standing, arms tightly pressed together and waiting for commands like a soldier. Ava, found herself the wingback chair, unapologetically leaning back as Leia kept standing. 

 

"Why do we have to do that?" This was Ava, of course.

 

Leia pointed to the sword beside the wingback. Ava took it in her pasty fingers, lifting it up to the light of the fireplace. Cameron gasped, Felis' lips set in a tight line.

 

"It's a sword. Could mean anything." 

 

"It's Anakin Skywalker's." Cameron breathed, as everyone wheeled their attention to him. "She's the successor; the prophecy you kept talking about, Mistress?"

 

Leia nodded. 

 

"The one who will forge eternal peace within the Realms." Felis mumbled. 

 

"And the Council wants her dead." Leia added. Cameron, who was by now, practically vibrating from excitement, turned to Rey. Curious, like a child face to face with a socket on the wall he didn't know what to do with. 

 

"Why?"

 

She hoped she didn't have to say it herself, squirming in her seat as Kylo looked at her as if to ask if this was okay. Of course it was. It had to be. 

 

"Murder. And several cases of theft in the Witching Library and its Archives; practicing forbidden magic, and smuggling herbs and spices acquired from unauthorized trade within the woods, the nymphs, gremlins—"

 

"That  _many_? How old were you then? And what kind of manners were you raised with?" Ava griped incredulously. 

 

Rey laughed bitterly. "Well, none. It's what happens when you grow up in an orphanage and try to fend for yourself as early as seven."

 

The truth bomb seemed to shut the whole room up, except for Kylo who was in her head in a flash, cocooning her in a warm embrace. Physically, she reached out for his head, brushed her fingers against his steadily growing horns. Ava, still young and impulsive, still did not pull her punches. She looked down, though, like her feet had suddenly grown an inch since she started talking to her. 

 

Finally, Kylo decided to join the party. "All we know is, the attacks have been permeating through the barriers even with her period of exile in the Mortal Realm. And that these attacks became more aggressive when I found myself with her, as I am the other half to fulfill the prophecy."

 

"And the power we felt two days ago. Is it connected to any of this?" Asked Ava perceptively, having set the heavy metal back in its place beside the chair. 

 

With a blush, Rey nodded. "The Great Rite." 

 

Cameron, like he'd been splashed with cold water, sputtered, "Then.. y-you're the Priestess now? Of this coven? And him, the Priest?"

 

Ava turned quick. "The  _Demon_?"

 

"Children,  _please_ ," Leia pleaded, lifting her voice to drown all out. "That Demon still also happens to be my  _son_. Without Rey, he wouldn't have even found himself back here, the rightful heir of this coven after me."

 

Kylo snorted. "Don't flatter them, mother. I don't need this lot."

 

"And we don't need you." Ava snapped fearlessly. In Rey's mind, a fire erupted, angry and red and orange, but kept inside. Private, for her and for him. She stroked her fingers on his exposed chest, feeling it stiffen like metal under her hold. She took a shaky breath. 

 

"But I do." She spoke up, stepping closer and letting Kylo go. "And I know, at least, you need me, too." 

 

"Of course," Ava returned. "I don't want barbaric idiots clambering for a spot in our civilized society. It's already hell Prime East is playing dumb with the prophecy, I'm not about to let anyone reign over me like he reigned over the Council; spineless."

 

Rey sputtered out laughing at how quick she'd strung the words together, hands over her mouth. Quietly, Ava's grim, stiff upper-lipped countenance broke for a small grin. 

 

"I knew there was a reason I somehow liked you." She said to her. 

 

"Who's behind the attacks?" Felis asked.

 

"Hux." Kylo answered, blunt fingers digging into the carpet. "He'd enlisted the help of Bazine Netal, a shapeshifting half-demon working as his aide. In the past months on the Mortal Realm, he'd let phantoms sneak out for trouble since the Treaty has a loose hold on them." 

 

Cameron paled. "He wants to break the Treaty?"

 

It was Felis who replied. "To conquer the Mortal Realm and Rey, the only thing standing in his way. If he takes her out, it'd be easier to win over the Realms."

 

"But he can't get out of the Demon Realm without violating the treaty; Snoke is too much of a staunch believer that the Demon Realm is to stay where it is." Kylo supplied. 

 

"Doesn't mean he can't, of course." Ava stepped in, in careful thought with her hands on her lap and her stare far away. "Unless he gets someone else to game the Treaty." 

 

"What are you talking about?" Kylo asked. 

 

"Everyone knows rules can be bended with the right nudge from anyone's capable cerebral cortex. He's working with a half-demon. Which has it merits and has its limitations. He could be grooming her, but that can't be true because Hux, I assume, is much too arrogant to risk usurpation from anyone, especially not from a half-demon." 

 

"Or," Cameron tapped his chin awkwardly. " _She_  could be grooming  _him_."

 

"What?" Felis asked, twisting on her feet to fully look at him. Cameron continued, sounding the rest of his suspicions. "In the texts, a Demon deals only with life or soul. You will give either one to be able to acquire any sort of demonic service. If Hux had wanted her dead, he'd have had her dead. But she's still alive, I'm assuming, so maybe the question we should ask is why Hux had specifically kept her by his side? Maybe it provides us with an explanation as to why they would even hope of mounting an attack on the Human Realm or on Rey even if the Treaty forbids it." 

 

"Are you saying," Ava muttered, mind moving frantically. "That perhaps Bazine had made herself powerful enough for a high-level Demon to actually need her  _this_  long? For a battle strategy?"

 

"That could be," followed Felis. "But what sort of battle strategy would they employ to game the Treaty? What could possibly be the least risky course of action?" 

 

"Wait," Rey found her voice. The whole room turned to her. "What did you say about the phantoms?" She asked to Kylo, who had gone silent during the exchange. She shook him lightly to bring his attention back to her. He looked up.

 

"Which part?" 

 

"The part with the phantoms and how the Treaty is with them." 

 

"The Treaty offers amity for all the Realms, though fragile. But since the Phantom Realm is overpopulated, they were more difficult to rein in even with the Treaty in place. As a result, they slip easy through the Witching Council's detection or the Demon Vanguards scrutiny, as they cause mischief with the Mortal Re—"

 

"That's it!" She yelped, clapping her hands together. "Bazine plans to use them to game the Treaty." 

 

Felis picked this up with glee, eyes widening. "She's going to release them first until their numbers count as a violation and then, when we least expect it—"

 

"She'll let Hux run around. With the Treaty already broken, everyone will be too distracted by quelling the chaos instead of stopping him from killing Rey." Ava completed excitedly, standing up in the process. 

 

Rey laughed, running one hand through her greasy hair. It was crazy. Crazy.  _Crazy_ that these bunch of Initiates figured it out with offerings of introspective questions. She looked to Leia, then, just as Cameron stood up to discuss with Felis. Kylo looked at his mother, too, and listened as she spoke softly in their heads.  _You'll need these brilliant minds more than you think you. There are reasons I picked them._ And then she winked at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a huge risk there by introducing new OCs and I hope I'll be able to blend them in well. There are more OCs to come and I hope you all get to love them as much as I do. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my comeback update! xx


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